UN headquarters in Baghdad bombed
At least three people have been killed and “scores” more have been injured in a blast at the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, according to reports.
The explosion ripped through the building, tearing away part of it and leaving black smoke billowing from the hole. Eye witnesses said the blast could be heard across Baghdad.
Hundreds of people work in the UN headquarters, sited in a converted hotel in eastern Baghdad. The compound was thought to be well defended by a high perimeter wall.
A US military spokeswoman said the blast was caused by a car bomb.
The UN special representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was injured in the bombing.
The search for survivors is continuing. The US military says the blast caused “scores of casualties”.
