Rocket blast shakes US embassy in Iraq: witness

BAGHDAD, Jan 27 (Reuters) A rocket was fired into the international Green Zone in Baghdad today and a witness said it appeared to have landed in the US embassy grounds.

US embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said a rocket landed in a sparsely populated area of the Green Zone and that two people were slightly wounded. He said he could not confirm that it landed within the US embassy compound.

''The embassy is functioning normally,'' he said, adding that the two injured were not embassy staff.

Loudspeaker warnings urged people to take cover. ''This is not a drill,'' the warning said.

The witness who was inside the U.S. embassy, a large complex within the Green Zone centred around one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, had no details on whether there were casualties.

The US military had no immediate information.

Several people in the Green Zone said they had heard what may have been a mortar or rocket go past, but could not say where it landed.

A double rocket attack on the Green Zone wounded six people earlier this week. The area, which stretches over several square kilometres (miles) houses Iraqi government offices, embassies and other foreign facilities.

Mortars and rockets frequently hit the area and usually do not cause casualties.

Today's loud blast shook windows across the river from the Green Zone in the central district of Karrada.

REUTERS SY ND2036