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2 Eyewitness accounts 3 List of victims (incomplete) 4 Suspects 5 Responses 6 See Also 7 External link |
There is speculation that Vieira de Mello may have been specifically targeted in the blast due to the proximity of the truck to his office. The UN building may have been chosen due to its limited security. Although the UN is generally thought of as a neutral organization, it was not popular in Iraq due to its role in administration of the sanctions against Iraq in force since the end of the First Gulf War, which, according to UNICEF figures, were directly responsible for the deaths of half a million Iraqi children and a huge rise in the mortality rate.
The recent Security Council decision to retrospectively sanction the US occupation, a direct breach of the UN charter, has only added to the anger felt by many Iraqis towards the organization.
It was most likely caused by a suicide bomber driving a truck full of explosives. The vehicle has been identified as a 2002 large flatbed Kamaz (manufactured in Eastern Europe; part of the former Iraqi establishment's fleet). Investigators in Iraq suspect it was from old munitions, including a single 500-pound bomb. The materials may have been from Iraq's prewar arsenal. Investigators comment that such items would not require any "great degree of sophistication" to assemble.
Investigators are focusing on the possibility that former Iraqi intelligence agents (working as security guards) may have assisted the attack.
Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, commented that the bombing would not stop the organization's efforts to rebuild Iraq, and said: "Nothing can excuse this act of unprovoked and murderous violence against men and women who went to Iraq for one purpose only: to help the Iraqi people recover their independence and sovereignty, and to rebuild their country as fast as possible, under leaders of their own choosing."
Internationally, there are two main views on the attack, though there are other minority views.The bombing
The explosion occurred while Benon Sevan, director of the "Oil for food" program, was holding a press conference. Sevan was among the wounded.Eyewitness accounts
List of victims (incomplete)
(Marilyn Manuel, 53 (Philippines), a member of Vieira de Mello's staff originally listed as dead, stunned her family when she called home, not knowing they had been told she was dead. They had been busy arranging her funeral.)Suspects
Proposed suspects responsible:
An otherwise unknown group called the Armed Vanguards of the Second Mohammed Army has claimed they were responsible for the attack [1].Responses
The suicide bombing of the United Nations in Baghdad drew overwhelming condemnation.