Four killed in Baghdad mortar attack

The mortar bomb hit a densely populated area

By Barbara Plett in Amman

The Iraqi news agency says four people were killed and 38 injured in a mortar attack in Baghdad late on Tuesday.

The report said six mortar bombs were fired at a residential building in a densely populated area of Baghdad.

It quoted an authorised security source as saying that one Iraqi and three others of Arab nationality were killed.

Some of the wounded were seriously injured and taken to hospital.

The agency said a 60 calibre mortar gun was found in the area, along with a compass and two bombs, which had not detonated.

Iran blamed

The security source blamed the Iranian government and said Iraq reserved the right to retaliate.

There has been no response yet from Iran, but the incident appears to be the latest in a low-level guerrilla war between Iran and its main armed opposition, the Mujahideen Khalq, which is based in Iraq.

Earlier this month, the Mujahideen said it had carried out a mortar offensive in Tehran that injured several people.

A day later, it said it had repulsed an Iranian air strike on one of its bases in Iraq.

Baghdad also announced last week that it had shot down an Iranian reconnaissance drone.

The cross-border attacks have led to increasing tension between the two countries, which fought an eight-year war in the 1980s.

On Monday, a newspaper in Iraq warned Iran it would be playing with fire if it attacked Iraqi territory.