German diplomatic staff at the country’s consulate in Erbil have left Iraq due to the Iran war, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday.
It comes after Germany withdrew its embassy staff from the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday amid the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, which sparked retaliatory strikes from Tehran on Israel and the wider Gulf region.
Erbil is the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq and has been repeatedly targeted in the conflict that began on Feb. 28.
The diplomatic staff stationed in Erbil were temporarily pulled out of Iraq on Tuesday, Foreign Office officials said on the sidelines of a visit by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to Saudi Arabia.
Wadephul arrived in Israel on a surprise visit on Tuesday from where he travelled on to Riyadh.
He decided to temporarily withdraw the staff from Erbil in light of the local security situation, but the consulate can still be reached, the ministry said.
German embassy staff based in Tehran were evacuated on Saturday in light of ongoing U.S.-Israeli attacks.
NAN
