Deadly bombings in Baghdad's Green Zone have touched off a US security review and a search for evidence to determine if terrorists linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi carried out the attacks.
Two bombers penetrated the tightly guarded area of the Iraqi capital and struck at a bazaar close to the US Embassy annex and at a cafe. Witnesses said both carried backpacks and spent considerable time sipping tea in a cafe before striking.
At least three employees of the private US security firm DynCorp were killed, one was missing and two were wounded. Three US State Department workers were injured. The State Department said two Iraqis also died, one of whom was presumed to be a suicide bomber. It did not say if the other Iraqi was the other bomber.
Condemning the bombings and extending sympathies to the families of the victims, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday, "Our people who go out [to Iraq] know that they are serving in dangerous circumstances."
But, he said, "It's obviously very sad and unfortunate when something happens to them or to the Iraqis who are working with them in the Green Zone and elsewhere in the country."
Americans and Iraqis working at the embassy were instructed to remain inside the complex indefinitely. Boucher said an investigation and security sweeps were under way. Security arrangements were put under immediate review. Boucher said it is "much too early to start speculating" about possible changes.
"Every time there is an incident like this we automatically look for what we can do to improve security for everybody who lives and works in these areas," Boucher said.
Tawhid and Jihad, al-Zarqawi's militant group, claimed responsibility for the blasts.
It was the first time a bomb was set off within the Green Zone. In the past, there have been rocket attacks from beyond the perimeter. Also, an explosive device was found in the zone recently.
The DynCorp employees who were killed include John Pinsonneault, 39; Steve Osborne, 40; and Eric Miner, 44.
Ferdinand Ibabao, 36, is missing and presumed dead. The two wounded employees are John Jenkins, 39, who is hospitalized with serious injuries, and Michael Cannon, 34, who was treated and released. The identities were released by Computer Service Corp, the parent company of DynCorp.
In a speech Thursday night in Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said "the insurgency must be defeated."
But, he added, "it will get worse before it gets better. Those are determined, evil people."
Powell spoke at a dinner of the US Global Leadership Campaign, a coalition of more than 300 US corporations and organizations which support foreign aid and other overseas spending by the US government.
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