UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was shocked and dismayed to hear that the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam Z. Al-Zubai had been injured in an assassination attempt earlier Friday.

    In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban said he met with Al-Zubai in Baghdad on Thursday and greatly valued the opportunity to hear Al-Zubai's views on the current situation in Iraq.

    He reiterated his admiration for the Deputy Prime Minister's readiness to serve Iraq at a great personal risk, and offering his condolences for those who were killed and injured in the attack and wishing him a full and speedy recovery from his injuries.

    At least nine people were killed on Friday in a double bomb attack targeting Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie, who was injured in the incident.

Related:

    Death toll rises to 9 in bomb attack on Iraqi deputy PM

    BAGHDAD, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Death toll rose to nine late Friday in a double bomb attack that targeted Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie, who escaped the attack but was injured and admitted to a U.S. hospital, an Interior Ministry source said.

    "Our latest reports said that nine people were killed, including al-Zubaie's brother, and 15 others wounded," the source told Xinhua, adding his bodyguards and relatives including his brother, were among the killed.

    Rocket blast shakes UN chief in Baghdad

    BAGHDAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- An explosion rocked the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad on Thursday while Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon were holding a joint news conference.

    The explosion was heard clearly at the news conference held following the talks between Ban Ki-moon and al-Maliki. According to some reporters who ran out of the room to see what happened, the blast left a big crater only some 50 meters away from the conference building.