STORM2K

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car bomb caused the explosion at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday which wrecked the complex and caused scores of casualties, the U.S. military said.

"We can confirm that there was a car bombing at the Canal Hotel at 4:30 p.m.," a U.S. military spokeswoman told Reuters. The U.N. uses the hotel as its headquarters.

Thanks for the info. David. I am heading to the tv now. :o

Was a truck bomb.. Kind of like a cement truck they are reporting.. So far 3 dead

Yikes...pray that the casualty count doesn't jump too high.

The wire services which I have a subscription to are reporting it was a garbage truck... these apparently were commonly used to transport materials across Iraq in secret during Saddam's reign. Three dead is still the numbers I can confirm.

At least 15 dead now and Kofi Annan's envoy to Iraq was badly injured.

So sad but this is still not a peaceful nation. With Sadamn still alive - I don't think peace will ever come. I am beginning to wonder about this mission.

The stupid thing is that the UN mission in Iraq was for the humanitarian aid. The people who did this are terrorists pure and simple and need to be hunted down and shot like the dogs they are!

Heard about that this morning on the news, thanx for the info anyways.

The latest I can confirm from the wire services is 16. More as I get it...

How sad - 16 deaths. Any of them Americans?

Too early to determine at this point Ticka...

"At least three people, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the U.N. special representative to Iraq, remain trapped in the rubble of the Canal Hotel, a U.N. spokesman said. "

ABC radio now reporting that he has died.

Fox News is reporting at least 20 dead...scores injured.

ticka...I still think we were right on with our mission. Like Marshall said, these are terrorists pure and simple and need to be hunted down and killed.

The latest number is 20 confirmed dead. Over 100 injured... the seriousness of the injured is not known. The flag at UN headquarters in New York is flying at half mast.

http://www.msnbc.com

On the home page, under the main headline, you can click "Video of the bombing" to see how it was when a Japanese news crew was filming at a press conference on landmines. MSNBC offers a warning about graphic content - the explosion could be shocking to some and there is quite a bit of blood on the walking wounded, but nothing horrific IMO.

The UN was operating under a misconception...that, since it was there for humanitarian aid only, it would not be targeted.

Now, its Special Representative is dead, along with at least 20 others and 100+ injured. The UN spokesman said, and I quote, "A line has been drawn"..."never before has any United Nations mission been specifically targeted"...and its flag is at half-mast in New York.

NOW, maybe the Security Council will sit up and take notice?