Baghdad/Erbil, IRAQ, 8 June 2014 – UNICEF is horrified by reports from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul of multiple child casualties when a school was directly targeted by mortar fire during clashes between militants and government forces on Saturday 7 June. Any attack which targets children or schools is a grave violation against the rights of the child as outlined in Security Council Resolutions 1612 and 1882. Schools are zones of peace where children must be allowed to play and learn in safety and security, and violations of this sort undermine the basic humanitarian principles which all cultures, religions and governments agree upon, and further escalates the spiral of violence in Iraq. UNICEF condemns this attack and calls for an end to any actions that endanger children.