At least eight killed, four wounded in Baghdad Green Zone attack

BAGHDAD (AFP) - At least eight civilians were killed and four wounded in a mortar or rocket attack on Baghdad`s fortified Green Zone, home to the American embassy and the Iraqi government, a US army spokesman told AFP.
"Six civilians were killed and three wounded at the Green Zone Bazaar and two civilians were killed and one wounded at the Green Zone cafe," the military spokesman said Thursday referring to two locations popular with US soldiers and civilians.
The spokesman said there were still more wounded being pulled out from the wreckage of the open-air restaurant.
The two nearby shops are where soldiers and civilians, both Iraqi and foreign, regularly go to purchase DVDs and to eat.
There was no word on the nationalities of the civilians in the deadliest attack to date inside the bunker-like swathe of land which is also home to the palace of jailed dictator Saddam Hussein.
Police and emergency sirens were heard going off in the area and a helicopter circled over the mountain of smoke that shot up on the western edge of the Green Zone.
An officer earlier referred to the back-to-back blasts as a rocket or mortar attack.
The Green Zone is a frequent target of mortar rounds and rocket fire, and a senior military official warned that the zone could be hit by a major attack with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday.