US envoy must be summoned over teenage girl killed during military drills near Baghdad airport: Iraqi MP

An Iraqi legislator has demanded that the American ambassador to Baghdad Alina L. Romanowski be summoned over the killing of a teenage girl during US drills near a military camp close to Baghdad International Airport.

Ahmed Taha al-Rubaie, a lawmaker from the southern Iraqi province of Basra, called on the Baghdad government to immediately summon Romanowski, and hand her a strongly-worded note of protest over the killing of 15-year-old Zainab Essam Majed al-Khazali.

“Even though two days have passed since the teenage girl was killed by a bullet fired during US military exercises near the Victoria base northwest of Baghdad, the US Embassy has not bothered to issue any official apology for the unjust incident,” Rubaie wrote in a post published on his Twitter page.

He added, “The death, which occurred as a result of the use of live rounds during military drills near residential neighborhoods, exhibits an outrageous disregard for the Iraqi blood and a blatant disrespect for the country's sovereignty.”

Rubaie called on the Iraqi government to take all legal measures to hold those behind the incident accountable, summon the American ambassador, and submit her a note of protest so that the death would not go unnoticed.

The Security Media Cell, affiliated with the Iraqi prime minister's office, described the teenage girl’s death as a “random shooting,” saying it had launched an investigation into the incident.

Khazali’s funeral procession took place on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Qais al-Khazali, the secretary general of the Iraqi anti-terror movement Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, demanded an “immediate” and “urgent” investigation into the teenage girl’s death.

He termed Washington's actions “a flagrant violation of the Iraqi constitution,” and a “blatant breach of Iraqi sovereignty.”

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