BAGHDAD – A sharp increase in mortar attacks on the Green Zone – the one-time oasis of security in Iraq’s turbulent capital – has prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a strict new order telling all employees to wear flak vests and helmets while in unprotected buildings or whenever they are outside.
The order has created a siege mentality among U.S. staff inside the Green Zone following a recent suicide attack on parliament. It has also led to new fears about long-term safety in the place where the U.S. government is building a massive and expensive new embassy.
The situation marks a sharp turnaround for the heavily guarded Green Zone – long viewed as the safest corner of Baghdad with its shops, restaurants, American fast-food outlets and key Iraqi and American government offices.
The security deterioration also holds dire implications for the Iraqi government, which uses the Green Zone as a haven for key meetings crucial to its ability to govern. On Wednesday, for example, Vice President Dick Cheney held meetings in the Green Zone with Iraq’s prime minister.
Reporters covering the Cheney visit were hustled into a secure area when a large explosion rattled windows in the U.S. Embassy late in the afternoon. Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said the vice president’s meeting “was not disturbed and he was not moved.”
The increase in mortar attacks comes despite the presence of tens of thousands more American and Iraqi soldiers in the streets of Baghdad as part of the security crackdown ordered by President Bush in January.
The vest and helmet security order was issued May 3, one day after four Asian contract workers working for the U.S. government were killed when rockets or mortars slammed into the Green Zone.
It was at least the third straight day of barrages against the 3.5-square-mile area along the west bank of the Tigris River in the center of Baghdad.
Because of the “recent increase of indirect fire attacks” – the military term for mortar and artillery barrages – the order told embassy employees that until further notice, “outdoor movement” must be “restricted to a minimum.”
“Remain within a hardened structure to the maximum extent possible and strictly avoid congregating outdoors,” the order said.
Government employees who work outside of a “hardened structure” such as the current embassy building or travel “a substantial distance outdoors” must wear “personal protective equipment,” meaning flak jackets and helmets, the order said.
A U.S. Embassy spokesman confirmed the order was in effect until further notice.
U.S. military deaths
Latest identifications reported by the military of U.S. personnel killed in Iraq:
Army Staff Sgt. Virgil Martinez, 33, West Valley, Utah, died Sunday in Kadhimiyah from an explosive and small arms fire in Baghdad; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
Army Sgt. Sameer Rateb, 22, Absecon, N.J., died Sunday in Bayji from injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
Army Spc. Robert Dixon, 27, Minneapolis, died Sunday in Baghdad when an explosive detonated near his vehicle; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Hamlin, 24, London, Ky.; Army Pfc. Larry Guyton, 22, Brenham, Texas; died of wounds suffered when an explosive detonated near their vehicle Friday; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas:
Marine Master Sgt. Kenneth Mack, 42, Fort Worth, Texas; and Marine Cpl. Charles Palmer, 36, Manteca, Calif.; died Saturday in Anbar province; assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquaters Group, II MEF, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
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