A rocket landed near the Iraqi prime minister's office Thursday during the first visit to the country by the chief of the United Nations in nearly a year and a half, sending Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ducking unharmed behind a podium at a news conference.
Ban Ki-moon arrived in Baghdad on Thursday on an unannounced visit to Iraq. Ban met with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The rocket caused no injuries but rattled the building in the Green Zone, sent small chips of debris floating from the ceiling, and left a three-foot-wide crater about 50 yards away outside.
According to the AP, it struck right after al-Maliki, standing next to the guest, had finished telling reporters that Ban's visit was a sign that Iraq was on the road to stability. "We consider it a positive message to (the) world in which you confirm that Baghdad has returned to playing host to important world figures because it has made huge strides on the road toward stability," al-Maliki said in his opening remarks.
Ban had just finished giving an answer to question and it was being translated into Arabic as the rocket struck with a big blast.
He appeared frightened, casting his eyes right and left as he rose after ducking behind the podium where he was standing and answering questions with al-Maliki. A worried-looking Ban turned to one of his aides and asked: "Is it OK?"
Al-Maliki told his security guards, "Nothing's wrong," as one of them moved to grab him. He then proceeded to answer a question and while that response was being translated, he turned to Ban and asked: "That's enough?"
"Yes," he replied.
Last week, Ban unveiled the "International Compact with Iraq" in which he appealed for international support for a five-year Iraq reconstruction plan. "The compact should be seen as a tool for unlocking Iraq's own potential," Ban told the compact meeting last week. "The challenges ahead are immense. I am sure you will all agree that we cannot leave Iraq on its own to cope with them."
Ban will be in the Iraqi capital for only one day of meetings.
Meanwhile, a senior government official said Thursday the government has been indirectly talking to several Sunni armed groups over the past three months in an attempt to persuade them to lay down their arms and join the political process. According to the AP, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi of the Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation said the talks were initiated at the request of the armed groups and have been taking place inside and outside Iraq.
Members of the former president's outlawed Baath party took part, he added.
Al-Muttalibi disclosed the negotiations were deadlocked over the armed groups' insistence that they would lay down their arms only when a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq is announced.
