CAIRO, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Egypt denounced the protesters' attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Egypt voiced its deep concerns over the assault," the statement said stressing that the attack violates international conventions.

It called for protecting diplomatic buildings, urging all parties in Iraq to distance themselves from any international and regional tensions that could negatively affect the country's security and stability.

On Tuesday, the U.S. embassy suspended public consular services, until further notice, as a result of an attack by the Iranian-backed protesters on the diplomatic compound.

Earlier on Friday, Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, was killed in a U.S. air strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport.