/ 14 October 2003

Suicide blast at Turkish mission in Iraq

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a car outside the Turkish mission in Baghdad on Tuesday, wounding two Iraqi security guards, a Turkish diplomat said in Ankara.

Iraqi police said four other people — civilians — were also injured.

The attack comes just a week after Turkey decided to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq despite strong objections from Iraq’s interim leadership, and particularly the country’s Kurdish community.

The assailant was killed after blowing himself up in the car, the diplomat said, adding that none of the Turkish personnel were injured.

The explosion blew out the windows of the building and demolished part of the garden wall.

”We strongly condemn this attack,” the diplomat said.

”This and similar attacks show how serious the security situation is in Iraq.

”It also underscores the necessity for everybody to take immediate action to contribute to establishing stability in the country,” he added. — Sapa-AFP