DATE=3/22/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAQ /IRAN ATTACKS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260477
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  Iraq has blamed Iran for a mortar attack on a 
residential area of Baghdad that reportedly killed 
four people and injured 38 Tuesday night.  From Cairo, 
Lisa Bryant reports the incident is the latest example 
of rising tensions between two long-time adversaries.

TEXT:  Baghdad is calling the mortar attack a flagrant 
aggression against the country's security and 
sovereignty.  Iraq claims unnamed agents of the 
Iranian government fired six mortar bombs on a 
residential building in the capital.  A spokesman said 
Baghdad reserved the right to retaliate suitably 
against Tehran.

So far, however, Iran has not commented on the matter.

According to Iraq's official news agency, two of those 
killed in Tuesday's mortar assault were Iraqis, and 
the others were from other Arab countries.  The attack 
reportedly created panic among a large crowd of 
holiday goers nearby who were celebrating the Muslim 
Eid al-Adha feast and the Kurdish New Year.

An Iraqi spokesman said those injured -- including 
children, women and elderly people -- were taken to a 
nearby hospital.  The spokesman also said an Iranian 
mortar and two unexploded bombs had been found near 
the bombed building.

The Agence France-Presse news agency reported the 
Palestinian representative to Baghdad identified two 
of the dead as Palestinians.  The Palestinian 
official, Azzam al-Ahmad, said the mortar attack had 
been deliberately planned to hurt Palestinian-Iraqi 
relations.

Iraq and Iran still maintain hostile relations after 
fighting a brutal eight-year war in the 1980s.  Each 
harbors dissident groups from the other country.  Both 
have recently stepped up charges against each other of 
cross-border attacks.

Earlier this week, for example, Iranian security 
agents accused Baghdad of helping two Iranian 
opposition fighters cross the border to launch a 
mortar attack on Tehran.  Last week, the Iranian 
opposition, Mujahideen Khalq, said Iran had attacked 
one of its military bases inside Iraq.

On Monday, the leading Iraqi newspaper, "Babel," 
warned Tehran against further attacks, and accused U-S 
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of encouraging 
what the newspaper called Iranian aggression.  In a 
speech last week, Secretary Albright expressed regret 
about America's support of Iraq during the Iraq-Iran 
war, and announced steps to ease U-S sanctions on 
Tehran. (SIGNED)

NEB/LB/GE/JP




22-Mar-2000 11:12 AM EDT (22-Mar-2000 1612 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.