| Several mortar shells were fired Thursday at the Italian Embassy in Baghdad, causing some Iraqi deaths, the Foreign Ministry in Rome said. No Italians were hurt in the attack, it said. In Baghdad, an Iraqi police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The AP that one Iraqi was killed and three were wounded in the attack. Ambulances rushed to the scene, and U.S. soldiers secured the embassy perimeter, positioning humvees and army trucks to seal the area. Blood stains were visible on the sidewalk and glass and fragments of mortar shells littered a street just behind the embassy compound. Windows were smashed and a wall was charred at a nearby restaurant. The attack came hours before the arrival in Italy of President Bush for talks with Premier Silvio Berlusconi, one of the U.S. administration’s staunchest allies in Europe. The ministry said it did not have details on the number of Iraqis killed or their identities. The ANSA news agency said there were unconfirmed reports of two Iraqi deaths. The building was not damaged. However, the ministry said, most embassy personnel were being transferred to the heavily guarded Green Zone, the U.S.-led coalition headquarters in central Baghdad. |