The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will temporarily close its offices in Baghdad and Basra because of increased violence in Iraq, the agency said Saturday.

"We are temporarily closing our offices in Baghdad and Basra," said Florian Westphal, spokesman of the Swiss-based group.

"We are still discussing what to do with our foreign staff. The situation is extremely dangerous and volatile."




Westphal said the decision was not based on a specific threat, but an assessment of the overall situation.

Roughly 30 foreign workers and 600 Iraqis work for the international Red Cross in Iraq.

A car bomb exploded at the Baghdad headquarters of the Red Cross on Oct. 27, killing 12 people, including two ICRC guards. The blast prompted the organization to reduce its foreign staff and.

Other aid agencies have been reviewing or reducing their operations in Iraq.

The ICRC has operated RCS through three wars in the country.

Later Saturday, unknown insurgents tried to hit U.S. headquarters in Baghdad again, the third time this week. The mortars landed near a train station and no one was injured, police said.