Iraq: Bremer 'shocked' by attack

Paul Bremer, the US civilian administrator for Iraq, has said he was “shocked and saddened by the horrific and cowardly' assassination attempt on Governing Council member Aquila al-Hashimi.

The 25-member Governing Council, picked by Bremer two months ago, was designed to act as an interim government.

“This senseless attack is not just against the person of Aquila al-Hashimi. It is an attack against the people of Iraq and against the common goals we share for the establishment of a fully democratic government,” the Bremer statement said.