Shells Hit Baghdad's Green Zone After 3-Month Lull

Baghdad violence is down sharply, but has been increasing recently
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 18, 2009 4:45 PM CDT
Shells Hit Baghdad's Green Zone After 3-Month Lull
Smoke rises from the U.S. protected Green Zone in central Baghdad, Iraq, in this Sunday, March 23, 2008 file photo, after it was targeted by a series of rockets or mortars.   (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

Suspected militants shelled Baghdad's protected Green Zone today in the first such bombardment in more than 3 months. The back-to-back strikes reverberated across the Tigris River to a popular promenade, sending families packing up from fish restaurants and abruptly halting a party at a club. No casualties or damage have been reported, the US military said.

Violence across Iraq remains sharply down compared with past years, but attacks and bloodshed have increased in recent weeks and brought worries that it could slow the return of nightlife and commerce to parts of Baghdad. Meanwhile, Iraqi forces launched raids west of Baghdad, where authorities fear Sunni insurgents could be seeking to regain footholds in areas they once controlled. (More Green Zone stories.)

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