Iraqi Ambassador: Russian Diplomats Fired at by Americans

Iraqi ambassador to Russia Abbas Khalaf told a press conference that he had not yet received an official Iraqi version of the incident concerning Russian diplomats, but he confirmed the preliminary version that Russian embassy staffers in Baghdad were fired at by American troops. The ambassador referred to evidence provided by Iraqi witnesses.

According to the Iraqi diplomat, a motorcade with embassy employees that was heading for Syria for further evacuation to Moscow was fired at not 8-10 km from Baghdad, as media had reported, but 60 km to the west from the Iraqi capital. The ambassador added that the Americans had been informed about the motorcade movement in advance.

"The best proof" of the Iraqis' innocence is that Iraqi soldiers took the Russian diplomats to hospital, the ambassador said.

He expressed condolences to the families of the Russian diplomats injured during the fire attack.