Blast near U.N. headquarters in Baghdad
Bush to address General Assembly on Tuesday
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CNN's Walt Rodgers on the U.N.'s reassessment of its presence in Iraq.
CNN's Walter Rodgers on the blast near the world body's Iraq headquarters.
CNN's Nic Robertson on the rising sophistication of attacks.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bombing Monday near the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad left an Iraqi security guard and the bomber dead, a U.S. military spokesman said. It was the second bombing in two months to target the U.N. headquarters in the Iraqi capital.
"A bomb went off from inside of a car, killing two individuals -- one being the bomber," US. Army spokesman Capt. Sean Kirley said of the explosion that took place at a checkpoint on the perimeter of the U.N. compound.
"No damage was done to the U.N. building. No coalition forces were killed or injured that we know of, at this point," he said.
Doctors at nearby al Kindi hospital said 16 to 18 people were brought in for treatment following the explosion. Four in critical condition were transferred to other hospitals.
Iraqi police officer Wissam Jabar said, "I heard a huge noise. The next thing I was thrown forward two or three meters and saw my leg and my back were covered with blood."
Immediately after the blast -- shortly after 8 a.m. (12 a.m. EDT) -- U.S. Army helicopters circled overhead and American forces rushed to secure the scene, CNN's Nic Robertson reported. The explosion destroyed a nearby house.
An Army representative was quick to blame the attack on supporters of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"This is yet another example of former regime loyalists hurting the Iraqi people," said Army public affairs officer Capt. Holly Meeker.
"Coalition forces call on all Iraqi people to help fight these terrorists by providing the coalition with any information that could lead to their capture and to help prevent further attacks of this kind."
However, at a briefing later, another military spokesman, Col. George Krivo, told reporters Iraqi authorities and the FBI are investigating the incident and the coalition does not know yet who was behind the attack.
The bombing prompted a U.N. spokesman to tell CNN Correspondent Walter Rodgers that the United Nations "is reconsidering our presence here." The spokesman would not elaborate.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said he was "shocked and distressed" by the attack, said the United Nations is reassessing its situation in Iraq and will decide how to go forward.
Last month, a flatbed truck packed with explosives was detonated in front of the U.N. building and killed at least 22 people, including U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. (Full story)
U.N. staff members are no longer stationed at the facility, although U.N. and U.S. security personnel have been standing guard.
President Bush is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to present his case for rebuilding Iraq.
Bush is seeking support for a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution that would expand a multinational force in Iraq. The White House is hoping to attract financial contributions from allies as well. (Full story)
In an interview with The New York Times published Monday, French President Jacques Chirac said he did not intend to veto the U.S. resolution, unless it became "provocative." (Full story)
Other developments
• British coalition forces rescued an Iraqi policeman from an angry mob at the al-Hussein police station in the southern city of Basra, a spokesman told CNN Monday. British Maj. Charlie Mayo said the mob came to the police station Sunday angry about an arrest by the police officer. The crowd began shouting at the officer, who came out of the building and fired a round of warning shots into the air, according to Mayo. The mob then beat the officer and shot him in the head. The wounded officer feigned death, and the crowd quickly dispersed as coalition forces arrived, Mayo said.
• Three U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday in two separate attacks in Iraq, according to the Coalition Press Information Center. In the first attack, a soldier from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment was killed after an explosive device ripped through a U.S. military convoy traveling west of Baghdad. Shortly afterward, a mortar attack killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded 13 others at Abu Ghraib prison just outside Baghdad, the CPIC said. With the attacks, 304 U.S. troops have been killed since the Iraq war began in March -- 195 from hostile fire, and 109 non-hostile deaths. There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures, either during the period of major combat or after May 1. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said that the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher.
• A member of the Iraqi Governing Council is reported to be recovering after a second operation for gunshot wounds she sustained near her Baghdad home. Akila al-Hashimi sustained severe internal injuries when her convoy was attacked Saturday. Doctors operated on Hashimi to remove a bullet in her abdomen, and she had further surgery Sunday. It was the first attack on Iraq's new leadership since coalition officials established the council several months ago. (Full story)
CNN's Nic Robertson, Jason Bellini, Liz Neisloss and Phil Hirschkorn contributed to this report
