The Arab League (AL) on Thursday denounced a suicide bombing targeting Iraq's parliament in the Green Zone in central Baghdad earlier in the day.

In a statement, Amr Moussa, chief of the Cairo-based AL strongly condemned the deadly suicide attack in a restaurant inside the Iraqi parliament building while calling on the Iraqi people to close ranks and work together against violence and sectarianism to restore stability in their country.

Earlier Thursday, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up in the restaurant while many members of parliament were having lunch after their ordinary session, which left at least three killed and many others injured.

The attack on one of Iraq's most protected place demonstrated how difficult it is to rein in violence in the war-wracked country despite the ongoing security crackdown involving tens of thousands of joint U.S. and Iraqi soldiers.

Source: Xinhua