26 May 2004 00:03
Russian envoy to Iraq updates number of wounded in Baghdad attack
Cairo, 26 May: The number of the Russian Interenergoservis company employees wounded in today's terrorist attack
in a Baghdad suburb is five, Russia's temporary envoy to Iraq, Aleksandr Kinshchak, told an ITAR-TASS correspondent
over the telephone. He stressed that the condition of two wounded is serious and they cannot be transported. The
condition of three other wounded is of medium gravity.
The Russian diplomat noted that the number of victims of terrorist attacks is often exaggerated. "Our source of
information is the American hospital where the wounded are being treated. If we count all those with scratches, the
number will be much higher," Kinshchak stressed.
He noted that the few staff members of the Russian diplomatic mission are having to deal with a huge volume of work
following today's attack. "[They are having] to issue death certificates, transport the bodies of the killed
to a morgue at Baghdad airport for subsequent transfer to Russia and even persuade the Americans to issue us coffins -
this is also a problem," he said.
Kinshchak said a Russian Emergency Ministry's aircraft would evacuate about 100 Interenergoservis employees on
Thursday [27 May].
A total of 237 people are expected to return to Moscow from Baghdad, and the bodies of two killed Russians will be
taken to Moscow.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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