The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) headquarters in Baghdad (AFP/File)

¡¡¡¡GENEVA, Nov. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- The International Committee of the Read Cross (ICRC) has decided to temporarily shut down its offices in Baghdad and Iraq's southern city of Basra due to security concerns, an ICRC spokesman said Saturday.

¡¡¡¡"We are temporarily closing our offices in Baghdad and Basra inview of an extremely dangerous and volatile situation," said spokesman Florian Westphal.

¡¡¡¡But he said the ICRC will remain present in the north of Iraq.

¡¡¡¡The move came after a bomb attack on its headquarters in Baghdad late last month which killed 12 people, including two of the agency's Iraqi staff.

¡¡¡¡The Geneva-based ICRC has been operating in Iraq for the past 20 years, providing humanitarian assistance in the country and monitoring compliance with the Geneva Conventions. Enditem