NZ army officer wounded in Baghdad suicide bombing

A New Zealand Army officer was amongst those injured in this morning's suicide bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.

The Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson
said today Major Todd Hart was injured in this morning's explosion which took the lives of at least 15 people and injured scores of others.

"Major Hart was in the building at the time of the explosion and suffered a broken arm, lacerations and shock," Air Marshal Ferguson said.

"His injuries are not life-threatening and he was treated by medical staff at the scene.

He was transferred to a military base,Camp Victory, in the Iraqi capital.

"Major Hart's family have been informed and he has since contacted them."

Major Hart was deployed to Iraq in May 2003 to work with the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS).

The blast ripped through the UN headquarters in Baghdad at 4.30pm on Tuesday (0030 NZ time Wednesday), killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, witnesses and officials said.

A number of dead and wounded were still trapped under the rubble, US Captain James Jensen said from the scene.

A senior US official said the blast was caused by a massive truck bomb, possibly a suicide attack.

Amongst those injured was UN Special Representative in Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello who was badly wounded and trapped in the building. The main explosion was near his office.

US President George W Bush condemned the blast and said it reflected desperation of Saddam Hussein's supporters.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said this morning's suicide bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad will not affect plans to send New Zealand troops to Iraq.

Next month 61 New Zealand defence personnel are scheduled to be deployed to Iraq. Mr Goff told National Radio today that those plans were unaffected by events overnight.

"I don't think you can bow down in the face of terror in that way. To give in to terror is to concede to them... it is a risk, we were aware of that at the point we made the decision, but it is vital we restore humanitarian services to people in Iraq.

"That's what our engineers are going up there to do, to rebuild health clinics, schools, water supplies, sanitation. Unless those sort of jobs can be done it becomes a vicious cycle in Iraq."

Mr Goff called Mr Demello's death a "tragic blow" to his family and to the United Nations, which had lost one of its very best people.

Mr Demello had helped oversee the independence of East Timor, and Mr Goff said he had met him several times in recent years.

"He was an incredibly competent political operator, and probably one of the best United Nations people ... he did a superb job in East Timor and we worked very closely with him there."

Mr Goff said there were three other New Zealanders in Baghdad but there was no reason to believe they were in the building when it was bombed.

Major Hart came from Linton military camp and his wife and family lived in Palmerston North.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq