BAGHDAD, Sept. 7 -- Dozens of demonstrators stormed the Iranian consulate in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Friday, setting fire to the building, a security source said.
The Iranian employees had withdrawn from the building to safe places before the attack, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry later strongly regretted protesters' attack on the Iranian consulate, saying "it is an unacceptable development and is not in line with national hospitality for (diplomatic) missions," according to a statement by the ministry spokesman Ahmed Mahjoub.
"Targeting the diplomatic mission harms the interests of Iraq and its relations with other countries, and does not relate to the slogans of demonstrations and their demand for services and water," Mahjoub said.
The demonstrators headed toward the U.S. consulate, but the attempt was unsuccessful because of upgraded security measures, the source said.
Protesters also attacked a headquarters of the Iran-backed Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq militant group and set fire to its building in Bareiha area in central Basra, incurring heavy gunfire from the group's fighters, the source said.
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, or League of People of Righteousness, is part of the Hashd Shaabi brigades. The group was allegedly funded, trained and armed by Iran's Quds Force during the U.S. occupation of Iraq and later became allied to the Shiite-led government.
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