Annan Condemns Iraq Attack

Kofi Annan 1 March 2005 -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has condemned yesterday's massive car bomb attack in Iraq that killed at least 115 people.
At least 130 others were wounded in the blast in Hilla, 100 kilometers south of the capital, Baghdad.

It was the worst single such incident since the U.S.-led invasion nearly two years ago.

Annan said the only purpose of such "repeated acts of senseless violence" was to "undermine the prospects for a democratic and prosperous Iraq."

He urged all sides to "put aside their differences and work together in a spirit of national reconciliation."

Local police said a suicide car bomb hit a crowd of people applying for work in the security services. Police said several people were arrested in connection with the blast.

(AP/Reuters/AFP)