Insurgents fire mortar at Iraqi palace
22/11/2005 - 09:01:53Insurgents fired a mortar at a ceremony today where US forces were handing over a former presidential palace to local Iraqi officials after occupying it for more than three years.
The mortar did not cause any injuries, though it did create quite a scare at the ceremony, which was reportedly attended by US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad.
The palace was built by former dictator Saddam Hussein in his home town of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
The US commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, was also at the ceremony. The mortar landed about yards away.
Participants briefly went inside the palace, but emerged a few minutes later to continue the ceremony.
