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by IANS |
Baghdad, March 14 (IANS) The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Iranian Ambassador to the country to protest against Tehran's ballistic missile attack on the semi-autonomous Kurdish region's capital Erbil.
The attack has "caused damage to civilian facilities and homes of citizens, in addition to spreading fear among the residents of those areas", Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement.
The Ministry reiterated its "condemnation of the flagrant violation" of the sovereignty and territory of Iraq, stressing that such attacks will cast a shadow over the regional situation and make it more complicated.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has said 12 long-range ballistic missiles were fired at 1 a.m. on Sunday from the east outside Iraqi borders toward a new building of the US Consulate in Erbil and the surrounding residential areas, leaving one civilian injured.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed the missile attack on an Israeli base in Erbil, saying the move came in response to an Israeli airstrike on Syria's capital Damascus on March 7, in which two IRGC officers were killed.
The attack prompted the Iraqi Ministerial Council for National Security to issue a statement demanding "frank and clear explanations" from the Iranian side.
The Council, headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, stressed Iraq's constant rejection of settling scores between countries and entities by violating Iraq's sovereignty, noting its lands cannot be used to attack neighbouring countries.
