Reality Check

U.N. Secretary Ban Ki Moon gets a Baghdad welcome:

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was left shaken but unhurt on Thursday on his first visit to Baghdad after a Katyusha rocket landed just meters from a building where he was giving a news conference.

Moments after telling journalists he might boost the United Nations' presence in Iraq because of improved security, a thunderous blast sent shockwaves through the conference venue, startling Ban and sending him ducking for cover behind a podium.

Think Progress has the video.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki stood calmly next to him and stayed put, even as bits of debris fell from the ceiling:

Interior Minister Jawad Bolani played down the incident afterwards, telling Reuters: "This was not a security breach. Things like this happen in Baghdad once or twice a week."

Yeah, Mr. Secretary. No big deal. Just another normal day in Baghdad.



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