Iraqi Prime Minister presides over security meeting after drone attack on headquarters Reuters

By John Davison and Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped unharmed in an attack on an armed drone in Baghdad, authorities said on Sunday in an incident that sparked tensions in the country after a by-election held by Iran-backed militias. groups.

Kadhimi appeared in a video released by his office on Sunday as he chaired a meeting with top security commanders to discuss the drone attack.

“A cowardly terrorist attack aimed at killing the prime minister’s house last night is a serious target for the Iraqi state’s criminal armed groups,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement issued after the meeting.

Six members of Kadhimi’s personal shelter, located outside his green home, were injured, security sources told Reuters.

Three drones were used in the attack, including two by a third drone that was intercepted and demolished by security forces while the residence was hit, the INA state news agency said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

A spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces said there was a stable state of security inside the fortified Green Zone – which houses headquarters, government buildings and foreign embassies – after the attack.

No team immediately assumed responsibility.

The attack came two days after violent clashes between government forces in Baghdad and supporters of Iran-backed political parties, most of them armed, since those groups lost dozens of seats in parliament after the October 10 general election.

Kadhimi has ordered an investigation into the deaths and injuries of protesters and security forces in those clashes.

President Barham Salih has called the attack a heinous crime against Iraq. “We cannot accept that Iraq will lead to chaos and a coup against its constitutional system,” he said in a tweet.

Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who was the party’s biggest winner in last month’s election, called the attack a terrorist act against Iraq’s stability, aimed at “returning to a state of chaos controlled by non-Iraqi state forces.” .

The United States, Saudi Arabia and Iran condemned the attack.

DAMAGE TO THE RESIDENCE

Videos released by the prime minister’s office saw damage to parts of the prime minister’s residence and damaged SUV vehicles parked in the garage.

Unexploded handicrafts were also displayed on the roof of the prime minister’s residence after the drone attack.

The remains of a small drone loaded with explosives were being investigated by security forces, a security official who was aware of the attack told Reuters.

“It is too early to say who carried out the attack,” the security official said on condition of anonymity, as he was not allowed to comment on security details.

“We are verifying our intelligence reports and waiting for the results of the initial investigation to point the finger at the authors.”

The Iraqi military said in a statement that the attack was aimed at Kadhimi’s headquarters and that it was “in good health”. He did not give further details.

Two government officials said Kadhimi’s residence had been hit by at least one explosion.

Western diplomats stationed in the Green Zone said they heard explosions and gunfire in the area.

CONDEMNATION OF THE USA

The US provided research support.

“This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

The Saudi foreign ministry said the attack was a “cowardly terrorist act,” Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya television reported.

Iran’s top security official, Ali Shamkhani, has condemned the attack and said in a tweet that it is “a new sedition”.

The groups leading the protests and complaints about the outcome of the October 10 vote are armed militias backed by Iran, which lost much of its parliamentary power in the election. They have complained of irregularities in voting and counting of votes, allegations rejected by the country’s election officials.

Demonstrations in support of their supporters turned violent on Friday as protesters threw stones at police near the Green Zone, injuring several agents.

Police replied with crying gases and straight shots, and at least killed a demonstrator, according to Sources of Safety and Hospital in Baghdad.

Independent analysts say the election results were a reflection of anger against Iran-backed armed groups, accusing them of taking part in the killings of nearly 600 protesters who took to the streets in separate anti-government demonstrations in 2019.

Leaders of various political parties, most of them armed in the south and aligned with Iran, have denounced the drone attack and called on the government to conduct an investigation and hold the perpetrators accountable.

An Iraqi-backed Iraqi-backed Kataib Hezbollah security group on Sunday rejected suggestions that the Iraqi group was behind the attack on Kadhimi.