Iranian Missile Sets Homes, Cars Afire in Baghdad
An Iranian surface-to-surface missile hit Baghdad on Thursday, setting homes and cars on fire and sending residents of the Iraqi capital fleeing for safety.
Iran radio had warned that the attack was coming, and Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said it was in retaliation for an Iraqi attack on a passenger plane at Shiraz airport in southern Iran.
Iraq’s state-run radio and television quoted a military spokesman as saying a school and a mosque were hit in the third Iranian missile attack on Baghdad since Aug. 12.
The number of casualties and extent of damage were not immediately known.
Police kept onlookers away from the stricken neighborhood on the western bank of the Tigris River. Smoke could be seen billowing above burning houses and cars.
Vows Revenge
The Iraqi military spokesman, who was not identified by name, said the attack will be avenged.
“When the (military) command permits . . . entire Iranian cities will be eliminated,” he was quoted as saying.
Iran said the missile was aimed at Baghdad’s telecommunications center.
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