Rocket hits near U.N. head in Iraq

Story Highlights

• U.N. head Ban Ki-moon ducks as explosion rattles Baghdad press briefing
• Ban was making first visit to the Iraqi capital since taking office in January
• Two mortar rounds fired at the Green Zone, an Interior Ministry official tells CNN

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon ducked in surprise when an explosion rattled Baghdad's Green Zone on Thursday where he was delivering a televised news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Two mortar rounds were fired at the Green Zone, an Interior Ministry official said. The Associated Press reported that small chips of debris fell from the ceiling.

The explosion startled Ban, who swiftly regained his composure as the briefing continued. (Watch the explosion interrupt Moon's comments about security )

"A mortar landed and went off 100 meters away in an open field outside the compound where the press conference was being held," said U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe.

"The press conference continued. They don't know where it came from."

Okabe said Ban was "fine" and would continue as scheduled on the rest of his Middle East visit.

Ban arrived in the Iraqi capital Thursday morning on an unannounced visit, his first to the war-torn country since taking office in January.

He called his meeting with al-Maliki "very good" and praised the prime minister's "strong leadership" and said he was considering increasing the U.N.'s presence in Iraq as the situation in the country improved.

"The United Nations has been actively participating and helping Iraqi people through various means -- humanitarian, economic, and political facilitation," said Ban.

"However, recently, United Nations activities have been somewhat constrained, largely because of the situation on the ground."

Ban's visit came as U.S. officials said they had detained two brothers, one with ties to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, in connection with the killings of five American soldiers in Karbala in January. (Full story)

"Over the past several days, coalition forces in Basra and Hilla captured Qais Khazali, his brother Laith Khazali and several other members of the Khazali network," the U.S. military said in a statement.

Qais Khazali had been known to reporters as a spokesman for al-Sadr's political movement, and Reuters news agency reported that Khazali was a senior aide to the anti-American cleric.

Al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, a Shiite militia, is suspected of being involved in Iraq's sectarian violence.

The U.S. military said the Khazali network is "directly connected" to the January killings in Karbala, the Shiite holy city south of Baghdad.