Following Monday's deadly suicide attack on its offices in Baghdad, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it planned to review its operations in Iraq.

The bomb explosion at the ICRC buildings killed two of the organization's employees, along with an estimated ten other people.

"The ICRC condemns this attack in the strongest terms and expresses its heart felt sympathy to the victims and their families," the organization said in a statement.

"All deliberate attacks causing death or injury among civilians are strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law and negate the most basic principles of humanity," it continued.

The neutral, Swiss-run agency said it was not in a position to give further details concerning the explosion but added that it planned to reassess its working conditions in Baghdad over the coming days.

The Geneva-based ICRC has been operating in Iraq for the past 20 years, providing humanitarian assistance in the country and monitoring compliance with the Geneva Conventions.

It was the only aid agency to remain active in Iraq throughout the US-led war against Saddam Hussein.

Following August's deadly bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, the ICRC announced it was scaling back its activities in the country after being warned that it too could be the target of a terror attack.

It is still unclear how Monday's bombings will affect the work of the ICRC, which has so far declined protection from US-led coalition forces in Iraq in an effort to maintain its neutral stance.

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2003)