UN death toll rises to 24
At least 24 people are now known to have died in the attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad, official sources have revealed.
Those killed included the UN’s special representative in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. But today secretary general Kofi Annan has insisted that his staff will carry on working in the city despite what he described as “an act of unprovoked and murderous violence”.
“We will not be intimidated,” he told reporters in Stockholm. Mr. Annan is now on his way to New York where he will discuss the issue with the Security Council later today.
However, non-essential staff are being transferred from Iraq to neighbouring Jordan, along with the scores of wounded.
And the UN’s council for the safety of the international civil service has called for Mr. Annan to “suspend all operations in Iraq and withdraw its staff until such time as measures are taken to improve security”.
The secretary general himself has been critical of the efforts made by the US-led coalition to ensure that UN workers could carry out their duties in a secure environment.
A British woman has been confirmed as being among the dead. 35-year-old Fiona Watson was a political adviser to Mr. Vieira de Mello.
The FBI has been called in to investigate the incident, and officials today said they believed that a truck carrying the explosives was driven up an unsecured alley next to the hotel that was being used by the UN staff.
Human remains have been found inside the truck, reinforcing suspicions that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. Tests are now being carried out to identify the driver, and the truck’s engine number is being traced to try and find the owner.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Foreign Secretary Jack Straw noted this morning that it is “now clear that this is more than just sporadic, unorganised attacks on security forces in Iraq”.
There have been several attacks believed to be perpetrated by terrorists including the bombing at the Jordanian embassy, and the attacks on the Iraqi infrastructure including oil pipelines and water systems.
