The European Union (EU) Wednesday condemned "in the strongest possible terms" Tuesday's attacks in two villages near Iraq's Mosul, which killed more than 250 people and wounded hundreds.
"The goal behind these ruthless acts is to cause the sectarian violence in Iraq to escalate further and to spark ethnic-religious clashes," said the EU's Portuguese presidency in a statement.
The two villages near Mosul are inhabited by the Yazidi sect.
"These attacks should not however diminish Iraqi's people determination to take a firm stand against violence and the EU's presidency calls upon all groups and parties to embrace the path toward peace and development," said the statement.
The EU presidency stressed that last stability can only be achieved in Iraq if there is a comprehensive process of national reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the EU presidency reaffirmed its support to the Iraqi people in their reconstruction and stabilization efforts and the EU's commitment to "an independent, secure and united Iraq."
Four suicide car bombs, apparently targeting residents from the Yazidi religious minority, ripped through Yazidi residential compounds in Kahtaniya and al-Jazeera near Sinjar, a town near Mosul in western Iraq.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, many people blamed them on al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq, who were forced to leave Anbar and Diyala provinces amid a joint massive U.S.-Iraqi offensive against them and commenced staging attacks in other vulnerable areas, such as Sinjar.
Source: Xinhua
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