WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department Monday mourned Ed Seitz, a diplomat slain in Iraq, but rejected the suggestion he was killed because of inadequate security.
"For us, it's a tragic loss," deputy department spokesman Adam Ereli said.
State Department Special Agent Seitz was killed Sunday during a mortar attack on a U.S. position near the Baghdad airport. He was the first U.S. diplomat killed in Iraq.
The American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents some 23,000 retired and serving Foreign Service officials, also condemned Seitz's killing, and urged increased security for U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
"We strongly encourage the government to review the security arrangements protecting our dedicated colleagues, and to provide them the fullest measure of protection possible," the AFSA said in a statement Monday.
Ereli said the department was sparing no effort to provide diplomats the security they need.
"To suggest that somehow we're laying down on the job on security I think is unfair," he said.
State Department officials were at Dover Air Force Base, Del., to receive Seitz's body.
