Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kazimi was unhurt in a “assassination attempt” in the night of this Saturday with an explosive drone against his residence in Baghdad’s Green Zone. The United States condemned the attack that it described as “an apparent terrorist attack”.
“An explosive drone attempted to attack Kazimi’s residence” that “was not injured” in this “failed assassination attempt,” he said.with the Prime Minister’s office.
For its part, EUnited States condemned the drone attack on the residence of the Iraqi prime minister and considered it an “apparent act of terrorism”.
“We are relieved to learn that the prime minister came out unscathed. This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, aimed at the heart of the Iraqi state “, transmittedor in a statement the spokesman for the United States Department of State, Ned Price.
The attack, which occurred at a time of tensions with pro-Iranian groups in the country following the legislative elections on October 10, was not claimed immediately and it is unknown for now whether it caused casualties or the extent of the property damage.
“I’m fine thank god, and I call for calm and restraint on the part of all for the good of Iraq, “Kazimi wrote on Twitter. “The missiles of treason will not discourage the believers, and not a hair will be moved before the firmness and insistence of our heroic security forces to preserve the security of the people, achieve the right and establish the law,” he added.
Two security sources cited by AFP indicated that “a rocket” hit Mustafa al Kazimi’s residence in the Green Zone, an ultra-protected perimeter located in the center of the capital that houses the US embassy and other government buildings.
After the event, the security forces were deployed in and around that protected perimeter, a security source said.
Rocket attacks on the Green Zone are recurrent. Last Sunday, three rockets exploded in Mansour, an adjoining neighborhood, causing no injuries.
The truth is that the attack on Kazimi, in power since May 2020, occurs at a time of tension in Iraq after the legislative elections on October 10.
The influential Hashd al Shaabi coalition is vehemently discussing the results of this vote, in which its political wing, the Conquest Alliance, lost numerous seats in Parliament, according to preliminary results.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters clashed with security forces near the Green Zone on Friday. According to a security source, a protester died, while a source from Hashd al Shaabi speaks of “two dead.”
Supporters of this coalition of former paramilitary groups now integrated into the state have started protests sitting at the two entrances to the Green Zone.
Hashd’s management describes the elections as “fraud” and “scam.”
Despite its electoral collapse, this coalition will continue to be an influential force in Parliament thanks to alliances with other groups and the recruitment of independent deputies.
Preliminary results point as the winner of the elections to Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, whose current won more than 70 seats out of 329 in the chamber.
The final result of the vote should be published in a few weeks.
With information from AFP
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