Red Cross mulls future in Iraq following attack

US Secretary of State Colin Powell appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other agencies on Monday not to pull out of Iraq, saying their departure would be a victory for "terrorists."

A series of attacks around Baghdad on Monday killed 43 people -- including two ICRC staff -- and wounded more than 200.

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Senior ICRC officials in Geneva as well as in Iraq and neighbouring countries were discussing what to do after the agency was targeted, with a view to releasing an action plan in the coming days, a spokesman said.

The organisation must balance the security of its 30 to 40 foreign workers and more than 600 national staff in the country against the needs of the Iraqi people, said the ICRC's Florian Westphal.

"We have these two objective obligations to bear in mind which is why we are taking the time we need before making a decision," he told AFP.

Reports in German media Monday -- citing Pierre Gassmann the head of the ICRC's delegation in Baghdad -- that the agency would begin flying its foreign staff out were incorrect, Westphal continued.

"That was mainly our mistake that the message came across as such but no definite decision has been taken on how to proceed in Iraq," he said.

"There is still a debate, and if and when the decision is taken we will certainly communicate it ... within the next few days."

Various options will be considered on how to proceed with the ICRC's humanitarian work, which includes visiting prisoners of war, working at hospitals and helping with water sanitation.

Different tactics were adopted following previous attacks against the organisation in other conflict zones, including the partial withdrawal of staff, limiting movement outside major cities or increasing the role played by national workers, said the spokesman.

Antonella Notari, the ICRC's chief spokeswoman in Geneva, said a decision would be made "independently" of other players in the country.

"We will take our own decision based on our own conclusions and on our own criteria," she told a regular news conference here.

"We would like to insist on the fact that we proceed independently of any of the actors in Iraq."

Although discusions about how to move forward centre mainly on the ICRC's work in and around Baghdad, the agency is also assessing its presence across the war-torn country.