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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Baghdad's Green Zone 'under fire' | Baghdad's Green Zone 'under fire' |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A number of mortars have hit Baghdad's Green Zone, with eyewitnesses reporting smoke rising from the area around the US embassy. | A number of mortars have hit Baghdad's Green Zone, with eyewitnesses reporting smoke rising from the area around the US embassy. |
| About 10 mortars landed in the heavily fortified district where the government and parliament are based, and which is also home to many foreign embassies. | About 10 mortars landed in the heavily fortified district where the government and parliament are based, and which is also home to many foreign embassies. |
| There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. | There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. |
| It comes a week after Prime Minister Nouri Maliki warned militants against attacks on the Green Zone. | It comes a week after Prime Minister Nouri Maliki warned militants against attacks on the Green Zone. |
| US military helicopters took to the air moments later from the Green Zone apparently searching for the firing positions. | |
| Correct range | |
| The Green Zone is supposed to be a safe area of operation for the US civilian and military authorities in Baghdad, US contractors and the post-Saddam Hussein Iraqi government. | |
| In a recent report, the United Nations underlined the increased risks of operating in the area. According to UN figures, 26 people were killed by indirect fire from mid-February to late May. | |
| The heavily-armoured area of the Iraqi capital has been the target of increasingly frequent attacks. | |
| However, rocket fire and mortar attacks are often ineffective as helicopter patrols mean that attackers have no time to find the correct range, with most attacks falling on open ground. |