Offices used by United Nations' arms inspectors in Baghdad have been hit by two rocket-propelled grenades, UN officials have announced.

Damage to the offices was said to be slight, and there were no casualties.

Damage was slight, but political impact may be greater

It was unclear who was behind the attack, but the Iraqi Information Ministry blamed the attack on "parties which do not want a stable relationship between Iraq and UN weapons inspectors."

The attack was the second on UN offices in Baghdad in three months.

Last October, the building was attacked by four men who threw grenades and opened fire.

A UN spokesman said one gunman was overpowered and arrested by Iraqi soldiers.

UN Iraq coordinator Dennis Halliday speaks to Peter Dobbie of BBC World (46")

Nobody claimed responsibility for the October attack, but the Iraqi government blamed it on Iran, which was fighting against Iraq from 1980 to 1988.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Denis Halliday, told reporters that both Iraq and the UN were conducting a common investigation into the latest incident.

The headquarters house the offices of the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) on disarming Iraq, the World Health Organisation, the UN oil-for-food programme and the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM).

Iraq has been under an oil and trade embargo since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. It can only be lifted when UNSCOM certifies that Baghdad has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction.

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