Iraqi PM survives drone attack on residence

Middle East November 7, 2021 , by IRIA No Comments

Iraq’s prime minister calls for calm after surviving ‘assassination attempt’

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has survived an assassination attempt after drones laden with explosives targeted his residence in Baghdad.

The prime minister remained unhurt in the attack but six of his bodyguards were injured in an apparent assassination attempt, officials said.

The attack sparked tensions in the country amid violent protests by Iran-backed militia groups which refused to accept last month’s parliamentary elections. Final election results are yet to be announced almost three weeks after Iraqis cast their votes on October 10.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi appealed for “calm and restraint” after the attack. “I’m doing fine, praise be to God, and I call for calm and restraint on the part of everyone for the good of Iraq,” he said on Twitter. “Cowardly missiles and drones don’t build nations” he added.

Iraqi Interior Ministry official Maj. Gen. Saad Maan said that the prime minister’s house in the fortified Green Zone was targeted by three armed drones. Iraqi security forces shot down two of the drones.

Iraq’s President Barham Salih described the attack as a prelude to a coup. “We cannot accept that Iraq will be dragged into chaos and a coup against its constitutional system,” he said in a tweet.

There was no immediate claim for the attack. The Iraqi security officials said it was premature to say who carried out the attack before the investigation results.

Several countries including the US, UK, France, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, Jordan, UAE and Bahrain condemned the atttak and expressed solidarity with the Iraqi government and its people.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq also condemned in the “strongest terms the assassination attempt” against Kadhimi.