Bombing UN in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 19 -- A suicide bomber drove a gleaming new cement mixer full of explosives into the side of the United Nations compound here today and blew it up, killing 17 people and wounding at least 100 in an attack on one of the principal agencies in charge of rebuilding Iraq.

The bomb demolished the three-story converted hotel that served as the United Nations headquarters, scattering the wounded and the remains of the dead. United Nations employees, many of them recently flown in from Europe and the United States, crawled and ran from the wreckage, their clothes torn and splattered with blood. Many were delirious, calling out to friends and colleagues left in the rubble behind.

Among the dead was Sergio Vieira de Mello, 55, the United Nations secretary general's special representative in Iraq. Mr. Vieira de Mello's body was pulled from the wreckage tonight by American soldiers.

The compound was filled with hundreds of people responsible for an array of relief duties: repairing the country's electrical system, finding homes for refugees and delivering food. When the bomber crashed through the wall at 4:30 p.m., employees were holding a news conference to discuss their efforts to defuse the thousands of land mines buried across the country.

The GCP prediction is based on the combination of shock and compassion for the victims, and the feeling of dismay that good and generous people intent on creating a better life for the Iraqi people were killed in this tragic episode in a continuing war of ideologies. The prediction period begins at 3:30 pm and continues for 6 hours to 9:30 local time (11:30 to 17:30 GMT).

The formal analysis has Chisquare of 21692 on 21600 df and p = 0.327.

Bombing UN in Baghdad


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