U.S. embassy says 3 security contractors killed in attack on GZ

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Three security contractors were killed and 15 others wounded when a Katyusha rocket landed on central Baghdad’s Green Zone (GZ), according to a press release by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Thursday. “Also, fifteen people, including two Americans, were wounded when a rocket struck the area, home to the offices of the Iraqi government and the large U.S. Embassy,” read the release as received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Iraqi police said it was a mortar, not a rocket, that struck the Green Zone. Earlier on Thursday (July 22), Maj. General Qassem Atta, the official spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC), said a Katyusha rocket landed on the bank of the River Tigris near the GZ but left no casualties or material losses. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the discrepancy. The rocket firing comes more than two months after the GZ came under similar attacks. The embassy said the three killed were two Ugandans and a Peruvian who worked for a U.S. government security contractor. Insurgent attacks have tapered off since 2008 amid improving security, but Thursday’s attack is evidence of the insurgents’ enduring capability to stage attacks. Iraqi forces had taken charge of security in the heavily-fortified GZ from U.S. forces on January 1, 2010. The GZ, known as the international zone that is located on the west bank of the River Tigris, lies over an area of 10 square kilometers and is home to the republican palace, the government, the parliament, some ministries and residences and offices of several top Iraqi officials in addition to the conference hall and al-Rasheed Hotel. AmR (S) 2