Iran's Rouhani Vows Support for IS-Besieged Iraq
by VOA News October 21, 2014
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is pledging lasting Iranian support for neighboring Iraq in its fight against Islamic State militants.
The official Iranian news agency reported Tuesday that Rouhani told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that his government will support Baghdad 'from the first day and will remain on that path until the last day.'
The Iranian leader said countries in the region need to 'confront terrorism in a united and coordinated way.' He said Iran will continue to provide Iraq with military advisers and weapons.
Abadi said that 'terrorism is a threat to all regional countries and we are sure Iran will stand by us.' He said that choosing Iran for his first foreign visit since assuming office last month 'indicates the depth of ties' between the two countries.
The Iraqi capital has witnessed a surge in bombings over the past month, most claimed by Islamic State militants who have overrun large parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria in an attempt to impose a religious caliphate.
In Iraq, the Sunni insurgents continued their almost daily bomb attacks targeting Shi'ite neighborhoods. Authorities said attacks Tuesday in and near Baghdad killed at least 24 people, with the most devastating blasts killing 15 at a restaurant in the capital's northern Talibiya district.
One eyewitness, Qassim Hassan, said one bomb exploded, then a second a short time later.
'A car bomb exploded here near the restaurant, and when people gathered at the blast site, another car bomb went off,' he said.
A homemade bomb exploded close to a restaurant in Baghdad's Sheik Omar neighborhood, killing two civilians, and two more blasts near restaurants in the south of the capital left seven other people dead, police and medical sources said.
Islamic State militants surged toward Baghdad in June after seizing the northern city of Mosul but have not captured the capital.
Some information for this report comes from AP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
