5 civilians wounded by 2 mortars in Baghdad

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Five civilians were wounded when two mortar shells landed in central Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi police official said. “One of the two mortars landed on a civilian vehicles parking lot in al-Allawi area, central Baghdad, leaving five civilians wounded,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “Security forces sealed off the area near the foreign ministry building while ambulances rushed the wounded to a nearby hospital,” the source added. Coinciding with these mortar attacks, a joint press conference was held by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte at the ministry headquarters in Baghdad. Earlier in the day, eyewitnesses said two explosions ripped through central Baghdad near the heavily fortified green zone but no casualties were reported. “One of the blasts occurred near a parking lot close to the green zone while the other took place in al-Allawi, both in central Baghdad,” local residents told IraqiNews.com. AmR (P) 1