BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb exploded Monday morning while the vehicle was being examined at a checkpoint as it tried to enter the U.N. compound, killing at least two people and injuring eight others.
The blast occurred about 100 yards from the U.N. compound at the Canal Hotel,
scene of a devastating car bombing last month that killed 23 people, including
the U.N.'s top envoy in Iraq (news
- web
sites), Sergio Vieira de Mello.
"The bomber drove up and was engaged by an Iraqi security individual just
before the checkpoint," a U.S. 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment spokesman, Capt.
Sean Kirley, told reporters at the scene. That policeman was killed, although it
was not clear whether he was shot or died in the explosion, he said.
Kirley said eight other Iraqi policemen were wounded. He said he didn't know
whether any U.S. troops were near the scene at the time, but none was wounded.
United Nations (news
- web
sites) staff have continued to work in undamaged offices at the hotel
complex since the Aug. 19 bombing.
The blast, which could be heard over much of the Iraqi capital, took place
two days before President Bush (news
- web
sites) is expected to address the U.N. General Assembly and offer an
expanded role in rebuilding Iraq, a condition set by many nations for
contributing peacekeepers and money to the reconstruction effort.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news
- web
sites) has made clear he wants assurances of security for U.N. personnel in
Baghdad along with any expanded role.
The United Nations curtailed its efforts in Iraq after the Aug. 19 bombing.
At the time of the attack, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said there were about 300
international staff in Baghdad and more than 300 elsewhere in Iraq. These
numbers are thought to have now been dramatically reduced.
After the bombing, about 20 U.S. military vehicles could be seen swarming
around the compound, and the area in northeastern Baghdad was sealed off by
Iraqi police.
The bomb exploded two days after an assassination attempt against Aquila
al-Hashimi, one of three women on the Iraqi Governing Council and a leading
candidate to become Iraq's U.N. ambassador if the interim government wins
approval to take the country's U.N. seat.
She was reported in serious but stable condition following the Saturday
attack, which occurred as she was riding in a car near her home in western
Baghdad. The Governing Council president, Ahmad Chalabi, blamed remnants of the
regime of Saddam Hussein (news
- web
sites), whose government was toppled by U.S.-led forces in April.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations May 1, more
than 160 American soldiers have been killed. More than 300 U.S. soldiers who
have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led coalition launched military operations
March 20.
The ongoing violence has raised questions about American stewardship of the
country and has led to calls for an expanded role for the United Nations in
post-Saddam Iraq.
On Sunday, President Bush said he's not sure the United States will have to
yield a significantly larger role to the United Nations to make way for a new
resolution on Iraq. He continued to insist on an orderly transfer of authority
to the Iraqis rather than the quick action demanded by France.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Brit Hume, Bush said he will declare
in his speech Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly that he "made the right
decision and the others that joined us made the right decision" to invade Iraq.
But the president said he will ask other nations to do more to help stabilize
Iraq.
"We would like a larger role for member states of the United Nations to
participate in Iraq," Bush said in the interview to be aired Monday night. "I
mean, after all, we've got member states now, Great Britain and Poland, leading
multinational divisions to help make the country more secure."
Asked if he was willing for the United Nations to play a larger role in the
political developments in Iraq to get a new resolution, Bush responded, "I'm not
so sure we have to, for starters."
But he said he did think it would be helpful to get U.N. help in writing a
constitution for Iraq.
"I mean, they're good at that," he said. "Or, perhaps when an election
starts, they'll oversee the election. That would be deemed a larger role."
Germany, France and Britain have also called for more authority for the world
body in Iraq, as Washington debates with its allies over a new U.N. resolution.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news
- web
sites), however, has not joined France's call for a quick handover of power
to Iraqi, backing the U.S. stance instead.
Bush said he would tell the United Nations that while some countries did not
agree with the U.S.-led military action in Iraq, it's now in the international
community's best interest to not only rebuild Iraq, but rebuild Afghanistan (news
- web
sites), fight AIDS (news
- web
sites) and hunger, deal with slavery and proliferation of heinous weapons.
He said the United Nations has a chance to do more as a result of U.N.
resolution 1441.
The United States argues that U.N. resolution 1441, passed unanimously in
November, provided sufficient authority for the U.S.-led war. That resolution
threatened Baghdad with "serious consequences" if it failed to show it had
handed over or destroyed its weapons of mass destruction.
"That's the resolution that said if you don't disarm there will be serious
consequences," he said. "At least somebody (the United States) stood up and said
this is a definition of serious consequences." The
Mulindwas Communication Group
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