Green Zone attacked as Tony Blair visits Iraq

? British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on his last visit to Iraq before stepping down in June, urged Iraq’s leaders to speed up reconciliation efforts to end the violence in the country Saturday – after three blasts rocked the compound where he met with Iraq’s leaders.

The attack on Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone by mortar shells or rockets wounded one person, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor. One round hit the British Embassy compound, security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

It was not known if Blair was in the embassy at the time, but he appeared to refer to the attack when he held a news conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani after meeting with them privately.

A fourth projectile exploded just outside the Green Zone.

Blair, whose premiership has been dominated by his unpopular decision to join the Iraq war, said he believed security was improving in Iraq, but acknowledged mortar attacks and terrorist attacks were still daily occurrences.

“Iraq was liberated from the terrible dictatorship of Saddam (Hussein) and now there are attempts to oppress it in different ways with terrorism and violence,” he said.