MID: Iraqi forces search for suspects in UN rocket attack
30 Nov 2008 6:49 PM
BAGHDAD, Nov 30 AFP - Iraqi forces surrounded a working-class neighbourhood in Baghdad on Sunday, searching cars and houses for militants behind a rocket attack that killed two UN contractors, officials said.
Security forces searched cars leaving the Al-Amin neighbourhood and distributed flyers requesting information on two men suspected of firing the rocket, which struck near the UN compound in the heavily-fortified Green Zone on Saturday.
"Security forces are looking for wanted individuals, and the people are supplying the forces with information on the gang that has been firing rockets," said Major General Qassim Atta, the military's Baghdad spokesman.
"The search operation will continue from this morning, and the goal of the forces is clear, it's the weapons that are hidden in Al-Amin and nearby areas," he told AFP.
A UN spokesperson confirmed that another 15 people were wounded in the dawn rocket attack but declined to comment on the nationality of the contractors who were killed and wounded, saying only that they were not Iraqis.
The victims were all workers for a catering company contracted by the United Nations, and were not national or international staff.
The Green Zone in the centre of Baghdad, also known as the International Zone, houses parliament and a number of government buildings and embassies.
The United Nations dramatically scaled down its presence in Iraq after a suicide truck bombing against its headquarters in 2003 killed 22 people, including its top Iraq envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
