Terrorist acts in lraq linked to external backing

The Syrian conflict has assumed a trans-border character and the further destabilization in the country “can lead to the worsening of the situation in the entire region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday in a comment on a new series of major terrorist acts in Baghdad’s Shiite quarters where some 90 people were killed and nearly 300 wounded. “These terrorist acts are obviously backed from the outside, also by armed groups operating in Syria,” the ministry noted. “This shows again that the conflict in Syria has spread beyond its borders,” the ministry said. “Moscow is seriously concerned over a fresh outbreak of violence in Iraq, condemns terrorist sorties and supports the efforts of the Iraqi authorities to oppose the extremists’ threats,” the ministry noted. “The attempts to stir up an inter-confessional conflict in Iraq, Syria and other countries must be stopped,” the ministry stressed. “We are convinced that there is no alternative to a constructive dialogue in the interests of all political and ethno-confessional groups of the country as a way to solve the existing problems,” the ministry said.