A huge explosion rocked central Baghdad Sunday and plumes of smoke could be seen rising over the US-led occupation "Green Zone" headquarters, according to witnesses.
The blasts occurred around 11:15 a.m. Smoke rose from an area near the Republican Palace, headquarters of the US-run Coalition Provisional Authority.
The reason behind the blast was not immediately clear.
Meanwhile, Washington may not have to send more troops to Iraq, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Sunday.
"The real task of security is not to flood a country with more and more troops," Rumsfeld told BBC Television from Istanbul, where he will attend a NATO summit.
"That does not mean that we will necessarily need them, that means we will do the prudent planning," he said.
Rumsfeld said he expected leaders in Istanbul to strike a deal to allow NATO troops to train security forces in Iraq.
"We anticipate that at this summit, heads of state will end up agreeing that NATO will in fact have a role in training and equipping the Iraqi security forces," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
