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UN chief shaken by Baghdad blast UN chief shaken by Baghdad blast
(30 minutes later)
A news conference by the head of the UN and Iraq's prime minister has been interrupted by a loud explosion, which sent debris falling from the ceiling. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has been left shaken by a blast which interrupted a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Baghdad.
Speaking in Baghdad's Green Zone, Ban Ki-moon was seen to flinch behind his podium and he appeared shaken by the nearby blast of a mortar or rocket. As Mr Ban was speaking during the live televised event, a mortar or rocket landed about 50 metres (165ft) from the building, causing him to duck.
Within minutes the two men finished their news conference. They were unhurt by the blast. Mr Ban appeared frightened but neither he nor Mr Maliki was hurt.
Witnesses said a missile landed about 50 metres (165ft) from the building. The UN chief had earlier arrived on his first visit to Baghdad since he took office in January this year.
The secretary general had arrived in Baghdad on Thursday morning on a previously unannounced visit, his first since taking office in January. The BBC's Hugh Sykes in Baghdad says buildings and windows shook and people clutched their furniture when the huge bang reverberated throughout the city at about 1530 (1230 GMT).
He says it appeared to be caused by a mortar attack on the international zone, otherwise known as the Green Zone, where all the diplomats and most of the US military are, in the centre of Baghdad.
At the moment of the blast, the camera filming the news conference shook slightly, while in the middle of the frame the UN chief could be seen ducking.
Interestingly, just to the left, the Iraqi prime minister did not duck, our correspondent says.
In 2003 the former UN ambassador to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other people died in a huge explosion which almost totally destroyed what was then the UN headquarters in Baghdad.