IRAQ Ohio-born U.S. diplomat dies in Baghdad attack

Officials said Seitz was probably sleeping when a mortar or rocket hit his trailer.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A U.S. diplomat and Ohio native was killed Sunday morning when a rebel's rocket or mortar shell crashed into the trailer where he slept, the U.S. Embassy announced.
Edward Seitz, an agent with the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, was killed about 5 a.m at Camp Victory, the main U.S. base near Baghdad International Airport, said embassy spokesman Bob Callahan.
Seitz, a longtime State Department investigator who worked for a time in Michigan, is believed to be the first U.S. diplomat killed in Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, an embassy spokesman said.
"He was certainly the first diplomat killed since the transfer of sovereignty" from the U.S.-led occupation to the Iraqi interim government on June 28, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
Background
State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said Seitz was 41 years old and born in Parma, Ohio.
Vasquez said Seitz served as a police officer with the Cleveland Heights and East Cleveland departments before joining the State Department in June 1988.
Seitz worked at the State Department's Detroit Resident Agent Office from 1991 to 1994, before transferring to Yemen, Vasquez said.
Seitz returned to Michigan in 2000 to serve as the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security's representative to the joint terrorism task force in Detroit. He held the job until leaving for Iraq in July of this year, Vasquez said.
"Ed was a devoted husband, son and friend whose spirit and goodness touched the hearts of every person with whom he came in contact," Joel Stelmark, a longtime friend in Michigan, read from a statement on behalf of Seitz's family. "Those who knew him will forever miss his unwavering commitment, loyalty and love, along with his amazing sense of humor."
A U.S. soldier was also injured in the attack on Camp Victory, the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition's ground forces command.
2003 attack
In a previous attack, a female U.S. Foreign Service diplomat was severely wounded in the arm in the October 2003 rocket barrage on the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone. U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, one of the architects of the Iraq war, was in the hotel at the time but escaped injury.
The embassy official said the wounded diplomat returned to the United States where she made a full recovery and has recently lectured incoming U.S. diplomatic staff about security in Iraq.
That year-old attack was investigated by Seitz's unit.
One person contacted at the U.S. Embassy annex in Baghdad said Seitz was probably sleeping in his trailer when it was blasted by a "totally random hit. The round just happened to hit his trailer."
"It's kind of sad the way it happened. He didn't have the opportunity to react. It's just one of those things that happen here," the person said on condition of anonymity. "He died in a very frustrating manner for those of us who are here."
The person said there were some "long faces" around the U.S. Embassy buildings in Baghdad on Sunday.
Statement from Powell
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John D. Negroponte, issued statements of condolences to Seitz's wife, co-workers, family and friends.
"The Department of State and I mourn the loss of one of our own today in Baghdad," Powell said, while on a tour of Asia. "Ed was a brave American, dedicated to his country and to a brighter future for the people of Iraq."
"Ed's death is a tragic loss for me personally, and for all of his colleagues at the Department of State," Powell said. "Ed Seitz died in the service of his country and for the cause of liberty and freedom for others. There is no more noble a sacrifice."
Negroponte said Seitz was a "committed professional" who served with distinction. The American community in Iraq mourns his loss and will "rededicate ourselves to the cause he served so valiantly and selflessly," Negroponte said.
"He came to Iraq, as did his fellow Americans here, to help the Iraqis defeat terrorism and the insurgency, establish democracy, and rebuild their economy," Negroponte said.
About the bureau
The Diplomatic Security Bureau is the State Department's own security unit. Its agents conduct a range of tasks, from designing physical security for U.S. diplomatic buildings and personnel, to assessing threats, investigating attacks and devising responses.
The State Department's Web site says the bureau is "currently completing security measures for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and training assigned staff to live and work safely in Iraq."
In Afghanistan, Diplomatic Security agents are protecting President Hamid Karzai while training an Afghan force to take over the job.
In the United States, Diplomatic Security agents investigate passport and visa fraud, conduct investigations and protect the secretary of state and high-ranking foreign visitors.