ERBIL - The recent airstrikes by the US targeting the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and deputy commander of Hashd al-Shaabi, in Baghdad, were a "violation" on Iraq's sovereignty, said Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi.

Halbusi's comments came hours after Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Hashd al-Shaabi, were both killed in the early morning on Friday in an air raid by the United States near the Baghdad International Airport.

"Any security and military operation on Iraqi soil must have the approval of the government, and we also call on the government in this sensitive circumstance to take the necessary political, legal and security measures to stop such attacks," Halbusi said.

He, in the meantime, denounced the incident warned of further escalations in the region, calling on all sides to exercise restraint, "to preserve the stability and security of the country that has been exhausted by wars."

BasNews