Rocket attack in Baghdad's Green Zone kills 2
The strike near the local U.N. headquarters may reflect the anger of Shiite militias over a new U.S.-Iraqi security pact. An earlier rocket hit the U.S. military compound Camp Victory.
Reporting from Baghdad — A rocket slammed into a compound near the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone today, killing two people in an attack that seemed likely to reflect the anger of Shiite militias over a new U.S.-Iraqi security pact.
Late Friday, a rocket hit Camp Victory, the main U.S. military compound in Baghdad, the military announced.
Both rocket strikes bore the hallmarks of Shiite militia attacks, and the one that targeted the Green Zone was the first reported there in more than a month. The security pact, which sets a Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, passed parliament Thursday over the fierce objections of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr.
Although he has held his Al Mahdi Army militia to a cease-fire since August 2007 and said he is focusing its activities on social and educational activities, Sadr also says his "Promised Day Brigade" has the right to attack Americans if they do not leave Iraq.
The security pact says U.S. combat forces should leave Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and pull out of the country by the end of 2011, but Sadr says there are loopholes that could allow the Americans to stay longer.
"The military option is up to our supreme leader, but as everyone knows, we have the right to resist," said Liwa Sumaysim, the head of Sadr's political bureau.
The Green Zone was pummeled by mortars and rockets last March and April during fighting that pitted Iraqi and U.S. forces against Shiite militiamen. The barrages stopped after Sadr called for a cease-fire.
The U.S. military said Iranian-made rockets had been used in both of the recent attacks, although it gave no details.
A U.N. spokeswoman said the rocket that hit near the compound struck about 6:15 a.m., killing two and injuring 15. All were workers for a catering company supporting the U.N. staff in Iraq, and none was Iraqi, she said. She did not give their nationalities.
In what could be read as a show of support for those wary of the security pact, a statement from the office of Iraq's most influential Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, today said there was "concern toward the security pact."
Sistani does not involve himself in politics, but his opinions carry great weight because of his religious standing.
The statement said the pact lacked national consensus and was vague on some issues. It said the final judgment on the pact would come from Iraqis, who are to vote on it in a July referendum. If they reject the deal, Iraq's government would be obliged to cancel it or to seek amendments.
Iran, which denies involvement in Iraq's violence, has also come out against the security pact. Iran's state-run radio said Iraqi leaders "are under pressure from America," which it said wants to prolong the U.S. stay in Iraq. The radio report suggested that Iraqis could be counted on to reject the pact in the referendum.
Susman is a Times staff writer.
tina.susman@latimes.com
