Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was unharmed in an “assassination attempt” late Saturday with an explosive drone targeting his residence in Baghdad’s Green Zone, his office said.
“An explosive drone attempted to attack the residence” of Al-Kadhimi that “was not injured” in this “failed assassination attempt,” his office said in a statement.
The attack, which occurred at a time of tensions with the country’s pro-Iranian groups following the legislative elections on October 10, was not immediately claimed and it is unknown for now whether it caused any casualties or the extent of the material damage.
“I am fine, thank God, and I call for calm and restraint on the part of all for the good of Iraq,” Al-Kadhimi wrote on Twitter.
Shortly before, two security sources had informed AFP that “a rocket” hit the residence of Mustafa Al-Kadhimi 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 attack on Al-Kadhimi, in power since May 2020, comes at a time of tension in Iraq following 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.
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.
