Americans in Green Zone edgy after deadly attacks

Baghdad: An American working for a small company with a Defence Department contract was found dead in a vehicle in the fortified Green Zone on Friday morning, US officials said.

Another American working for a contractor was killed later in the day in a suspected rocket attack near the US Embassy, US officials said. It appeared to be the first fatal rocket attack in the Green Zone in more than a year.

The man found in the car had been stabbed multiple times, according to a US official familiar with the investigation. He had been blindfolded and his hands were bound, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.

A security alert sent by Western security officials in the Green Zone to an American client said the man was apparently abducted on Thursday night as he was leaving a shop in the Green Zone. The alert, which was provided to The Washington Post, said the man's throat had been slit.

The US official said a preliminary investigation suggests the killing might have been a crime of passion.

"Our suspicion is that it was some kind of an argument that went bad," the official said.

The rocket attack occurred shortly after 8 pm, the projectile landing in a compound near the US Embassy where military contractors live, the official said. The deaths raised fears among Green Zone residents about security in what was once regarded as a safe haven for Americans living in a war-torn country.

The Iraqi government assumed nominal control of the heavily guarded area on January 1, in accordance with a security agreement with the United States. Since then, as Iraqi security forces have assumed more control over the four-square-mile zone, Americans have been urged to take precautions when they venture outside the massive US Embassy compound and the handful of remaining US military installations. US Embassy employees are no longer allowed to leave the facility unless they are in pairs or larger groups. It is now possible to enter the Green Zone without interacting with US soldiers at checkpoints. But the US military still issues badges that grant varying levels of access and has sought to delay the opening of a key bridge that connects the Green Zone to regular traffic. The International Zone Police, staffed by US military personnel, continues to patrol the area.

Several Americans have been killed in mortar and rocket attacks in the Green Zone in recent years, but officials said they could not remember another case in which an American was the victim of a non-combat homicide. US Embassy and military spokesmen confirmed that they were investigating the death but provided no details.

As the US military prepares to withdraw from inner-city bases by a June 30 deadline imposed by the Iraqi government, some officials have expressed concern that militiamen might once again be able to launch rocket attacks with ease.

One of the few outposts the US military is trying to exempt from the deadline requirement is on the southern edge of Sadr City, from which most rocket attacks on the Green Zone originated last year.

Official predicts increase in violence

Baghdad (AP) A top Iraqi security official predicted on Friday that insurgent groups will attempt more attacks similar to those that killed at least 66 people this week after US combat soldiers leave Baghdad and other cities by the end of next month.

Interior Minister Jawad Al Bolani also said in an interview with The Associated Press that some bombings this year were apparently carried out by terror cells that include foreign fighters from North Africa.

US combat forces are due out of Baghdad, Mosul and other cities by June 30 under a US-Iraqi agreement, handing over security responsibility to Iraqi soldiers and police.

But a spate of attacks since April has raised concern whether Iraqi forces are capable of safeguarding the security improvements achieved over the last two years.

"I think that there are terrorist groups that will try to carry out some terrorist and criminal activities in the coming period during and after the withdrawal of US forces from the cities," Al Bolani said.

"This is expected, but there are precautionary measures and plans to foil these terrorist activities," said Al Bolani, whose ministry includes Iraqi paramilitary police.

Nevertheless, Al Bolani said the US pullout would not be postponed. Ahead of the deadline, US troops are packing their gear, with some units expected to move to bases outside of the capital by the end of this month.