BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi escaped an assassination attempt when an explosive-laden drone targeted his residence in Baghdad early Sunday, the country’s military said.
Al-Kadhimi went on to Twitter moments after the attack and called for ‘calm and restraint from everyone’. “Thank God, I am fine and among my people,” the Iraqi premier tweeted on his official account.
“I was and still am a redemption project for Iraq and the people of Iraq. The missiles of treachery will not discourage the believers and will shake a hair of the stability and determination of our heroic security forces to preserve people’s security, achieve justice and set the law in place,” he tweeted.
The Iraqi military said afterward that Al-Kadhimi was unharmed and in good health, and that security forces were “taking the necessary measures in connection with this attack,” – which security sources said injured several members of Kadhimi’s personal protection.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Kadhimi’s residence in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies. Western diplomats based nearby in the Green Zone said they heard explosions and gunfire in the area.
The US Department of State condemned the attack and offered assistance with the investigation. “This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state,” spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
“We are in close touch with the Iraqi security forces charged with upholding Iraq’s sovereignty and independence and have offered our assistance as they investigate this attack,” the spokesperson added.
The attack came after protests in the Iraqi capital over the result of a general election last month turned violent. According to Reuters, the groups leading protests and complaints about the Oct 10 election are Iran-backed militias which lost much of their parliamentary power in the election.
Reuters reported that supporters of Iran-aligned militia groups which have grown their power in parliament and government in recent years have protested the results of the October election.
Demonstrations by their supporters turned violent on Friday when protestors pelted police with stones near the Green Zone. The police responded with tear gas and live gunfire, killing at least one demonstrator, according to security and hospital sources in Baghdad.
