US President George Bush Thursday condemned the terrorist attack on the Iraqi government sector in Baghdad that killed at least eight people, including three members of Parliament, and injured at least 20 others, according to dpa. "It reminds us that there is an enemy willing to bomb innocent people in a symbol of democracy," Bush said in broadcast remarks during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House. The blast apparently targeted a canteen where members of parliament were having lunch. "The type of person who would walk into that building and kill innocent people ... is the same type of person who would come here and kill innocent Americans," Bush said. In addition to the eight dead in the Parliament, a number of people were missing after a nearly simultaneous explosion at a bridge over the Tigris River in Baghdad. Bush said the Iraqi Parliament was a place where "people have come to represent the 12 million people who voted" and where the Iraqi government was trying to "reconcile politically" and "put a security force into place that can deal with these kind of people." "We stand with you," Bush said, addressing Iraq. He said the blast proved that it was in the US self interest to continue fighting in Iraq to support the government. US State Department Sean McCormack called the explosion a "heinous act of terrorism meant to intimidate the Iraqi people," and noted that both Sunni and Shia were killed in the blast. The US would be willing to assist the Iraqi government in any investigation and would also help "ensure that this is a place where parliamentarians and those working on behalf of the Iraqi government can do what they need to do in a safe, secure atmosphere," McCormack said. Parliament is located in the Green Zone, the heavily-guarded diplomatic and government area of closed-off streets in central Baghdad, former presidential grounds that include the main palaces of former president Saddam Hussein.
