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CAIRO (AP) - An Iraqi Shiite group has claimed responsibility for firing six mortar shells at a region of Saudi Arabia bordering Iraq and Kuwait.
Wathiq al-Batat, the leader of the so-called Mukhtar Army, said the shelling was in retaliation for religious decrees in Saudi Arabia that insult Shiites and encourage killing them.
Al-Batat told Beirut-based Iraqi satellite news channel al-Sumaria on Thursday that the mortars should be considered "a warning." He also said: "If they continue their provocations, we will carry out armed operations inside Saudi territories."
Saudi border guard spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Ghamidi told the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday that six mortar rounds hit an uninhibited area in Hafar al-Batin in the east, causing no damage.
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