States led authority has its headquarters, in what was seen as an attempt to prevent the signing of an interim constitution the next day.
U.S. coalition officials said that some missiles hit a building near the conference centre where the Iraqi Governing Council was due to sign the constitutional document on Monday, March 8.
The missiles were reportedly fired toward the area from the bed of a Toyota SUV parked about 400 yards (400 meters) north of the Al-Rashid Hotel. Five of the rockets hit the hotel, slightly wounding a civilian contract employee, the Cable News Network (CNN) quoted one American coalition official as saying.
Sources inside the Green Zone said the explosions did not involve the presidential palace, which serves as coalition headquarters, CNN reported.
CONCERNS
The attack came shortly after Shiite Muslim leaders said they had ironed out concerns with the text of the interim constitution over the weekend and that the long-delayed signing ceremony for Iraq’s temporary constitution could go ahead Monday.
"You will hear very good news, very soon, the signing will take place Monday," Governing Council member Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told reporters after talks at the home of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the revered Shiite spiritual leader who holds an effective veto over the document.
Some analysts have linked the violence to Muslim militants, including terrorists from neighboring countries and remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime. They oppose the US-led coalition and any attempts to move Iraq away from harsh Islamic rule, as suggested in the interim constitution.
CHRISTIANS
Groups supporting Iraqi Christians have welcomed news that the interim constitution describes Islam as "a source" rather than "the source" of law in Iraq and that at least one Christian participates in the government. Yet, human rights watchdog Barnabas Fund has warned that "the following qualifying paragraph states that no law is to be passed which goes against the tenets" of Islam.
"Such tenets are codified in the shari’ a, which carries inbuilt discrimination against women and non-Muslims," said Barnabas Fund in a recent statement seen by BosNewsLife. There is concern about reported efforts by Shiite Muslims to further increase their political cloud at the expense of minorities such as Christians, Barnabas Fund and other organizations said.
In a sign of possible political tension, Shiite Governing Council members walked out of the signing ceremony originally planned for Friday, March 5, after the nation’s top Shiite cleric objected to a provision that would give three Kurdish provinces veto power over approval of a permanent constitution.
UNDERSTANDING
"They reached a positive and clear understanding by the religious authorities for the development of the constitution and they plan to continue with the signing of the interim constitution on Monday," CNN quoted Ali al-Shabout, spokesman for council member Muwafaq al-Rubaie, as saying.
The clause at issue says if two-thirds of the voters in any three provinces reject the permanent constitution, which is to be drawn up in coming months, it will not go into effect until it is revised. The three Kurdish provinces want more autonomy than the majority Shiites are likely to approve, CNN and other sources said.
There has been much support for U.S. efforts in Iraq in Kurdish provinces, and Christian aid workers have told BosNewsLife there has been openness for the Gospel there.
Recently attempts were made by local and Jordanian Christians to translate and distribute a children bible in the Kurdish language, amid apparent signs of a Christian revival among Kurdish Muslims. Despite these developments Iraq’s Christian minority continues to experience persecution and many deadly attacks in different regions of Iraq, Barnabas Fund and other human rights groups say.
