Baghdad, Iraqi Kurds Protest Alleged Iranian Shelling

Kurdish fighters near Iraq's border with Iran (file photo) (AFP) August 29, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has summoned Iran's ambassador to Baghdad to demand that Iran stop shelling Kurdish areas within Iraq's northeastern borders.

There has been no official comment from Tehran about the alleged shelling.

The Kurdish regional parliament in Iraq held a special meeting on August 28 and called on the Iraqi government, the UN, and U.S.-led coalition forces to pressure both Iran and Turkey to stop bombing Kurdish areas.

Jabar Yawer, the spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Guard Forces, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq that Kurdish officials have already asked Iran to end the shelling, which he said was targeting civilians, and requested an explanation.

Kurdish officials say Iranian artillery resumed shelling border areas today. The reports have not been independently confirmed.

(with material from agency reports)