The latest in a line of increasingly regular and violent attacks in Iraq has once again shocked a world which is becoming all too familiar with news of death and devastation coming out of the supposedly post-war country.

However, Monday's suicide bombing of the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross which killed over 34 people has caused increased outrage due to its targeting of a non-military organization. The Red Cross, which operates completely independent of the U.S. occupying forces, has provided food and medicine to Iraqis during more than a decade of United Nations-imposed sanctions after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

The bombing, which followed the rocket attack on the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad on Sunday while U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was in residence, was similar to the guerrilla operation against the U.N. headquarters that killed more than 20 people in August.

Both the Red Cross and U.N. attacks have shown that men and women unconnected to the occupation and those attempting to help Iraq recover from war are viable targets to resistance groups operating in the country.

Annan: crime against humanity

Just over two months after he condemned the attack on his own organization, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the Red Cross bombing a "crime against humanity." Annan added that he is "is deeply dismayed" at the latest series of terrorist attacks and that he believes "all terrorist acts, from whatever quarter and whatever their justification, are morally repugnant and indefensible." He called upon the authorities in Iraq to bring those responsible to justice.

Bertrand Ramcharan, acting U.N. commissioner for human rights, echoed Annan’s condemnation and referred to the United Nations tragedy in August that killed his predecessor, Sergio Viera de Mello, saying in a statement: "The United Nations and the UN High Commission for Human Rights know the horror of such despicable crimes only too well."

EU condemns "lack of respect for life"

The European Union’s Italian presidency also issued a statement of condemnation. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters, "On behalf of the presidency, I want to firmly condemn the terrible, terrible atrocities in Iraq, the most recent being the attack on the Red Cross." He added: "Once again this demonstrates a total, total lack of respect for human life and a total lack of respect for religious belief."

Germany: an attack on the Iraqi people

In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's deputy spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters that the German government “views the developments (in Iraq) with great concern,” and added that Berlin condemned the car bomb attack in the strongest possible terms, saying it was directed against the interest of the Iraqi people. The attack has also prompted the German government to consider withdrawing a team of water-supply experts from Iraq because of security concerns.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the apparently co-ordinated series of car bombs across Baghdad, were “evil and wicked” while British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw added, "We will not be deterred by this kind of outrage." He says the targeting of an international organization shows what he calls "the depth of depravity to which they stoop."

France calls for Iraqi sovereignty

In France, condemnation “with the utmost firmness" of the attacks was accompanied by a call to restore sovereignty to the country in a bid to avoiding such crimes in the future. "In the face of such acts of violence, it is more urgent than ever to embark on a political process, based on the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty, mobilizing all energy toward the country's reconstruction," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous.