Spain pulls six Iraq staff out
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The Spanish Embassy in Baghdad
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MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- The Spanish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it is pulling six staff members out of its embassy in Baghdad but would leave about 20 others, including the top diplomats.
An aide to Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said Spain is not closing its embassy or removing the majority of its staff.
He said the six workers, who are involved in aid and development, are being sent to Amman, Jordan, while housing for members of the Spanish mission is moved to a more secure location.
The staff members, he said, will consult with Spanish diplomats in Jordan and get a break from the pressures of being in Baghdad.
He said the charge d'affairs and the Spanish consul to Iraq, the top diplomats in the country, are among the diplomats who will be staying in Baghdad.
In recent weeks and months, insurgents have staged attacks on the Jordanian embassy, U.N. headquarters, and the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Spain announced last month it would take new security measures after a Spanish diplomat attached to Spain's intelligence agency was shot and killed near his residence.
That diplomat, Jose Antonio Bernal Gomez, 30, lived outside a secure area.
At the time, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ramon Gil Casares, told reporters in Madrid that despite the attack, Spain would not withdraw its personnel from Iraq nor close the Spanish Embassy there.
Spain has about 1,300 troops in Iraq, stationed in the Polish-controlled sector of the country between Baghdad and Basra.
The former regime of Saddam Hussein had warned the Spanish government that its staunch support for the Bush administration in the war on Iraq could have consequences.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
