UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "was shocked and dismayed" to hear Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam Al-Zubai had been injured in an assassination attempt.
Ban met with met with the Al-Zubai Thursday during his one day visit to Baghdad, said U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe in a statement released Friday at U.N. World Headquarters in New York.
The secretary-general "was shocked and dismayed to hear that the deputy prime minister had been injured in an assassination attempt earlier today (Friday)," she said.
"The secretary-general sent a personal message to Al-Zubai, offering his condolences for those who were killed and injured in the attack and wishing him a full and speedy recovery from his injuries.
"The Secretary-General greatly valued the opportunity to meet with Al-Zubai (Thursday) to hear his views on the current situation in Iraq," said. "He reiterates his admiration for the deputy prime minister's readiness to serve Iraq at a great personal risk."
Al-Zubai was wounded in a suicide bomb assassination attempt which claimed the lives of nine people and wounded 14 others.
