Mortar shell hits parliament building

A mortar shell exploded on Monday afternoon on the roof of Iraq's parliament building in the Green Zone compound in Baghdad, causing no injuries, a lawmaker said.

"The shell landed almost above the office of the parliament speaker," said Sabah al-Saadi, a parliamentarian, adding that there was minor damage to the roof.

Al-Saadi was inside the building attending a committee meeting with other lawmakers when the mortar shell hit.

An April 12 suicide bombing in the parliament building's dining hall killed one lawmaker.

The blast on Monday was part of a sharp increase in recent weeks of mortar attacks on the Green Zone, which houses the US embassy, the Iraqi parliament and other government offices. The compound, on the banks of the Tigris River, is surrounded by cement walls and patrolled by US and Iraqi soldiers as well as private security guards.

Amid the almost daily mortar barrages, people living inside the area have been questioning whether it truly is safe.

First Published: May 21, 2007 18:34 IST