The Iraqi foreign ministry said on Sunday it had summoned the Saudi ambassador over comments he made to the media a day earlier regarding the Popular Volunteer Forces fighting the terrorist groups across the country.

The Iraqi foreign ministry said on Sunday it had summoned the Saudi ambassador over comments he made to the media a day earlier regarding the Popular Volunteer Forces fighting the terrorist groups across the country.

"This constitutes...a breach of diplomatic protocol and is based on inaccurate information," the ministry said in a statement about Saudi envoy Thamer al-Sabhan's remarks, in which he said the Hashid Shaabi units should leave the fight against militants of the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group to the Iraqi army and official security forces in order to avoid aggravating sectarian tensions.

"The Hashid Shaabi are fighting terrorism and defending the country's sovereignty and acting under the umbrella and command of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces," the statement said, referring to the Popular Volunteer Forces.

"He [the Saudi ambassador] is supposed to find the commons that strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, which Iraq is keen on strengthening and consolidating in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, and in order to serve the interests of the two brotherly peoples," the statement added.