BAGHDAD: Two suicide car bombings killed five people and wounded 15 Monday at the entrance to Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone, where an Arab League summit is to be held next month.
Officials said the bombings occurred at around 8:30 am (0530 GMT) at the western gate of the Green Zone, which houses the offices of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, the Iraqi parliament and the US and British embassies.
A queue of cars was waiting to enter the Green Zone when the vehicles exploded, a security official said.
"Two suicide car bombs exploded at the western gate of the Green Zone," said Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta, who put the toll at five dead and 15 wounded.
"The bombings happened when there were several employees and officials entering the Green Zone," he added. "The attack was trying to give the impression that the terrorists can target the Green Zone."
A doctor at Al-Yarmuk hospital said they had received 13 wounded, nine of whom were members of Iraq’s security forces.
The attacks come with less than a month before an Arab League summit is due to take place in Baghdad on May 11, with the newly-renovated Republican Palace where the talks are set to take place sitting inside the Green Zone.
The summit had originally been scheduled for March 29, and Arab League chief Amr Mussa said that the grouping should consider postponing it further.
Gulf Arab states have already demanded the summit be cancelled.
Iraq has not hosted a regular Arab summit since 1978 but an extraordinary summit was held in Baghdad in 1990.
The site of the attack, known as Entry Control Point 12, is the main entrance to the central Baghdad area for cars travelling from the Iraqi capital’s airport.
Anyone attempting to enter the Green Zone requires a badge issued either by the Iraqi security forces or the US military, with the colour of the badge indicating whether their vehicle needs to be searched before being allowed entry.
US military spokeswoman Staff Sergeant Kelli Lane would only confirm "an incident this morning near the International Zone," but gave no details. The US military maintains a contingent of soldiers inside the Green Zone.
A separate attack involving two roadside bombs in the upscale residential neighbourhood of Jadriyah in east Baghdad left five more people wounded, three of them security force members, an interior ministry official said.
Gunmen also targeted a jewellery shop in the Ameen district, in the capital’s east, killing one of the store’s owners and wounding another.
Police arrived as the attackers were attempting to rob the shop, but the gunmen managed to evade capture, the official added.
Violence in Iraq has declined dramatically from its peak in 2006 and 2007 but attacks remain common, especially in Baghdad.
A total of 247 Iraqis died as a result of attacks in March, according to official data.
