AFP – An Iraqi woman was killed on Thursday when a mortar round slammed into Iraq’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, a diplomat told AFP.
“A mortar round hit the waiting room of the Iraqi consulate, killed an Iraqi woman and injured three others,” the diplomat said, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
There was no immediate confirmation of the nationality of the three wounded in the attack that came at around noon in the northwest of the city.
“None of the victims worked for the embassy. It seems they were people who had come to do paperwork,” the diplomat added.
The Iraqi consulate is in an upscale part of Damascus and located near the Chinese embassy.
Both Iraq and China are opposed to foreign intervention in Syria.
Iraq has sought to publicly avoid taking sides in the civil war between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebels seeking his ouster, but the conflict has spilled over the border on several occasions.
In the deadliest incident, armed men ambushed a convoy in March carrying Syrian soldiers who had entered Iraq for medical treatment on their way back to their home country, killing 48 Syrians and nine Iraqi guards, the defence ministry said.
Syrian rebels battling against the regime have established several rear posts in suburbs of the capital, from which they regularly fire mortar rounds and rockets into the city centre.
On Sunday, a mortar round hit the compound of the Russian embassy in the central Mazzeh district of Damascus, injuring three people.
