Thursday, May 03, 2007
Rocket attack on Green Zone kills four
Security
(AP) -- Four Filipino contractors working for the U.S. government were killed in a rocket attack on the heavily fortified Green Zone, the American Embassy said Thursday. The attack occurred on Wednesday, said the embassy, adding that it was making the announcement "with a profound sense of sadness and regret."
It was the third straight day that the U.S.-controlled area in central Baghdad was hit by rockets or mortars, heightening concerns about security in the area that is home to the U.S. and British embassies and thousands of American troops. Insurgents and militia fighters routinely fire rockets and mortars into the sprawling complex on the west bank of the Tigris River, but the attacks seldom cause casualties or damage because they are poorly aimed and the zone contains much open space.
But two Americans - a contractor and a soldier - were killed in late March in a rocket attack on the area and two suicide vests were found unexploded less than a week after that. The adequacy of security in the vast area in central Baghdad more recently came into question in the aftermath of the April 12 suicide bombing in the Iraqi parliament building's dining hall. One lawmaker was killed in the blast, which was claimed by an al-Qaida-led amalgam of Sunni insurgents.
The Philippines banned deployment of workers to Iraq after insurgents abducted Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in July 2004. About 5,000 to 6,000 Filipinos are employed in U.S. military camps across Iraq, mostly as cooks and maintenance personnel. A smaller number work as bodyguards for businessmen. Most already were in Iraq when the Philippine government imposed the deployment ban. Despite the ban, many Filipino workers are believed to have slipped into Iraq through neighboring countries such as Jordan, prompting the government to appeal to those countries to help block such passage.
It was the third straight day that the U.S.-controlled area in central Baghdad was hit by rockets or mortars, heightening concerns about security in the area that is home to the U.S. and British embassies and thousands of American troops. Insurgents and militia fighters routinely fire rockets and mortars into the sprawling complex on the west bank of the Tigris River, but the attacks seldom cause casualties or damage because they are poorly aimed and the zone contains much open space.
But two Americans - a contractor and a soldier - were killed in late March in a rocket attack on the area and two suicide vests were found unexploded less than a week after that. The adequacy of security in the vast area in central Baghdad more recently came into question in the aftermath of the April 12 suicide bombing in the Iraqi parliament building's dining hall. One lawmaker was killed in the blast, which was claimed by an al-Qaida-led amalgam of Sunni insurgents.
The Philippines banned deployment of workers to Iraq after insurgents abducted Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in July 2004. About 5,000 to 6,000 Filipinos are employed in U.S. military camps across Iraq, mostly as cooks and maintenance personnel. A smaller number work as bodyguards for businessmen. Most already were in Iraq when the Philippine government imposed the deployment ban. Despite the ban, many Filipino workers are believed to have slipped into Iraq through neighboring countries such as Jordan, prompting the government to appeal to those countries to help block such passage.
Labels: contractors, Filipino, Green Zone, rocket attack
