Thursday, October 04, 2007
Poland to keep troops in Iraq despite attack on envoy
Security
(Gulf News) - Poland's ambassador to Iraq was wounded in a triple bomb attack on his diplomatic convoy in central Baghdad yesterday, which killed a Polish bodyguard and an Iraqi passer-by, officials said. A determined Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said following the attack that Poland would not withdraw the 900 troops it has stationed southwest of Baghdad. Iraqi police initially said one passer-by was killed in the blasts and five people were wounded, including three embassy officials. A Polish Interior Ministry spokesman later said a Polish bodyguard died in hospital. "Our ambassador, General Edward Pietrzyk scrambled out [of the wreckage] on his own," a Polish statement said.
The attack came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said amid mounting anger yesterday that Blackwater should leave the country because of the mountain of evidence against the under-fire US security firm. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that could see US contractors who commit felonies in Iraq and Afghanistan being prosecuted in US federal courts, a human rights activist said yesterday.
The attack came as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said amid mounting anger yesterday that Blackwater should leave the country because of the mountain of evidence against the under-fire US security firm. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation that could see US contractors who commit felonies in Iraq and Afghanistan being prosecuted in US federal courts, a human rights activist said yesterday.
Labels: bomb attack, General Edward Pietrzyk, Iraq, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Polish Prime Minister visits Iraq
Politics
(AP) - Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Wednesday and met with top Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Kaczynski, whose country has 900 soldiers in Iraq, traveled to the Green Zone, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Robert Szaniawski in Warsaw. The heavily fortified area on the banks of the Tigris River in central Baghdad is where Iraq's government meets and the U.S. and British embassies are located.
During his meeting with Kaczynski, al-Maliki said his country is interested in boosting its relations with Poland, al-Maliki's office said. Al-Maliki considered the visit an attempt to "enhance the cooperation between the countries," the statement said. Warsaw contributed ground troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003, and has since led an international force south of Baghdad. Twenty Polish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and Romanian President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu have all visited Iraq.
During his meeting with Kaczynski, al-Maliki said his country is interested in boosting its relations with Poland, al-Maliki's office said. Al-Maliki considered the visit an attempt to "enhance the cooperation between the countries," the statement said. Warsaw contributed ground troops to the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003, and has since led an international force south of Baghdad. Twenty Polish soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and Romanian President Traian Basescu and Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu have all visited Iraq.
Labels: Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Nouri Al-Maliki, Poland
