Amnesty International UK Media Director Lesley Warner said:

'Armed groups must end the policy of targeting Iraqi civilians and international humanitarian agencies who are trying to provide help and assistance to a devastated country.'

On 27 October at 8:30 am local time, a hospital ambulance sped towards the ICRC building in Baghdad and crashed at the front gate of the building in what appeared to be a suicide bomb attack deliberately targeting the ICRC.

Lesley Warner added: 'Civilians must never be the targets of indiscriminate attacks by armed groups that have so far claimed the lives of scores of innocent people.'

In recent weeks armed groups and individuals stepped up their bombing campaign against coalition forces, Iraqi police stations, international humanitarian agencies and Iraqi civilians working with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). This latest attack comes only over two months after the attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad which left 22 people dead and many injured.

Lesley Warner concluded: 'This attack is a major setback for the human rights and humanitarian efforts underway in Iraq. Those responsible for this crime must be brought to justice and tried according to international human rights standards.'