Insurgents increase attacks on Green Zone

BAGHDAD — Iraqi insurgents are increasingly hitting Baghdad's fortress-like Green Zone with rockets and mortar shells, officials said Wednesday.

Insurgents have struck inside the Green Zone, which includes the U.S. Embassy, on six of the past seven days, once with deadly consequences.

A U.S. soldier and a U.S. government contractor died Tuesday night in a rocket attack that also seriously wounded a civilian, military and embassy officials said.

Three rockets crashed down Wednesday, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor.

A week ago, a rocket attack landed about 100 yards from the Green Zone residence of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, jolting the room where he was holding a news conference with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The increased use of mortars and rockets is a "change in tactics," said Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, at a news conference.

Wednesday morning, embassy personnel received a bulletin saying body armor and helmet would be required for all "outdoor activities" within the sprawling embassy complex.

Fadhil Shuweili, an adviser to Iraq's minister of state for national security, said most of the attacks are believed to come from Sunni areas on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Bush quotes Iraqi bloggers

WASHINGTON — In an unusual step, President Bush cited a pair of Iraqi bloggers Wednesday to try to bolster his case that his troop buildup in Iraq is making progress.

Bombings in Iraq continue to take a heavy toll, but Bush insisted U.S. and Iraqi forces circulating in Baghdad were making a difference, slowly.

" 'Displaced families are returning home, marketplaces are seeing more activity, stores that were long shuttered are now reopening,' " Bush quoted the bloggers as writing.

In a speech, Bush did not identify them, but the White House said he was referring to an opinion article published March 5 in the Wall Street Journal by the two bloggers, Omar and Mohammed Fadhil.

They two men are Iraqi dentists who write an English-language blog, IraqTheModel.com.

They met Bush in the Oval Office in December 2004.

Seattle Times news services