Ambush Injures Polish Diplomat in Iraq

A U.S. military helicopter flies over central Baghdad, Iraq, as the sun sets on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) (Petros Giannakouris - AP)

Last year, the Polish government extended its mission in Iraq until the end of 2007, but has made no decision on next year.

Pietrzyk was treated at the U.S. military hospital in the fortified Green Zone and later flown to Warsaw.

"He is going to be fine," Figaj said. "He is stable, but he needs rest."

Two Iraqi passers-by also were killed in the 10 a.m. blasts, according to an Iraqi police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

A Polish security guard, Bartosz Orzechowski, 29, died at the hospital, said Poland's Interior Minister Wladyslaw Stasiak. The slain guard had been employed by the service since 2004.

Robert Szaniawski, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry, said officials "don't have the reasons for the attack," which destroyed three armored vehicles just a few hundred yards from the Polish Embassy.

But Figaj noted that Poland is a "strong U.S. ally and you can make your own conclusions."

Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said officials planned to move the embassy into the Green Zone.

"Backing out in the face of terrorists is the worst possible solution and I trust that the Poles, who are a brave nation, will not desert the battle field," said Poland's prime minister, Kaczynski. "We must fight terrorism and that entails a certain risk."

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, issued a joint statement condemning the attack.

"Poland has been a strong and steadfast ally here and around the world, and we commend its commitment to a stable and secure Iraq," the statement said. "We stand ready to provide any additional assistance we can."

American authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told AP that Iraqi law make it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.

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Associated Press correspondents Katarina Kratovac in Baghdad and Monika Scislowska and Ryan Lucas in Warsaw contributed to this report.