Baghdad: A special UN envoy appointed to look into the August bombings of two ministries in Baghdad met on Monday with senior Iraqi officials to discuss the blasts.
The meeting comes a week after twin suicide car bombs devastated three other government buildings in the Iraqi capital.
Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco arrived in Baghdad late Sunday. He met with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and senior government officials on Monday.
Iraq has blamed an alliance between al-Qaida in Iraq and members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party for the truck bombings on Aug. 19 that killed about 100 people.
Al-Qaida's umbrella group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the Oct. 25 twin suicide bombings of the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works — blasts that killed 155 people, according to Iraqi officials. It was the worst attack in Iraq in two years.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced he was sending his special envoy to Baghdad to look into the August attacks. The announcement said the decision was made before the October bombings.
In a statement, posted the Foreign Ministry Web site last week, Iraq welcomed the decision by the UN to help "identify the magnitude of the (August) crimes and terrorists attacks in Baghdad."
"We hope that this is the first step in the contribution of the United Nations to help Iraq to overcome the challenges," the ministry's statement said.
The recent bombings infuriated Iraqis, who question how the bombers a week ago could have driven their deadly cargo undetected through the multiple checkpoints that dot Baghdad.
Al-Maliki's government, facing a January election, has been under intense pressure to show that the Iraqi military and police are able to handle security as US troops slowly withdraw from the country.
Iraqis are still dealing with the fallout from horrific violence that brought the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.
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