A drone with explosives has hit the residence of the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mostafá al Kazemi, in a “failed attempt” to assassinate, as reported early this Sunday by the authorities of the country.
The attack has occurred in the ‘Green Zone’ of Baghdad, a specially protected area within the Iraqi capital, where most of the country’s embassies and government headquarters are located, just out of a new series of protests against the result. of the recent early legislative elections held in October.
According to the first reports on the assault, the Iraqi authorities have revealed that at least three drones with explosives were used in the assault, according to the head of the Security Media Cell, General Maan.
«Three planes attacked the home. The security forces downed two but the third carried out the attack on the house, “he said.
Hostilities between the Iranian-backed Shiite militias and the Iraqi government have increased in intensity after the October elections, where cleric Muqtada al Sadr’s bloc garnered the largest number of votes.
In fact, the attack took place a few hours after a group of sympathizers of the Popular Mobilization Forces militias – close to Iran – demonstrated in front of the gates of the ‘Green Zone’.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, while the spokesperson for another pro-Iranian militia – the Iraqi Shiite group Asaib Ahl al Haq -, Mahmud al Rubaeay, has argued that the action could have been “invented” by the Iraqi authorities themselves to “Worry the public opinion” and remove the focus of violence in the protests of recent days, collects the Al Arabiya chain.
Furthermore, other pro-Iranian militias, such as the Islamic Resistance Movement of Iraq (Kataib Hezbollah), have mocked the accusations against their possible responsibility. “According to the information we are considering, we do not know anyone in Iraq who wants to waste a drone against the prime minister,” the senior commander of the Abu Ali al-Askari group joked in a message posted on his Telegram channel.
Shortly after the attack, Al Kazemi has assured that he is well and has asked citizens for “calm and restraint”. “The missiles of treason will not discourage believers,” defended the president in a message posted on his Twitter account.
Authorities have confirmed that Al Kazemi has not been harmed and is in good health. “The security forces are taking the necessary measures in connection with this failed attempt (assassination),” said the country’s Security Media Cell, in a statement collected by the Iraqi news agency NINA.
Then reactions have begun to trickle between Iraqi political forces and the international community. The spokesman for the US State Department, Ned Price, has condemned the attack, which he described as “an apparent terrorist act (…) directed at the heart of the Iraqi state.”
In a statement released by the office, Price has expressed “relief” at the news that al Kazemi has not suffered damage, and has assured that his country is in contact with the Iraqi security forces and has offered support in the investigation.
Iraqi President Barham Salé condemned the “terrorist attack” against Kazemi, which he described as a “dangerous transgression and a heinous crime against Iraq.” The president took the opportunity to call for unity to “confront the evildoers who are stalking the security of this country and the safety of its people.”
“We cannot accept that Iraq is dragged into chaos with a coup against its constitutional system.”
Both Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council have also spoken with strong condemnation. Iranian National Security Council Supreme Secretary Ali Shamjani described the assassination attempt as “the opening of a new conflict to be investigated.”
The attempt to assassinate the Iraqi prime minister is, for Shamjani, “a new sedition that must go back to foreign think tanks, which have brought nothing but insecurity, discord and instability to the oppressed Iraqi people through the creation and support of terrorist groups. and the occupation of this country for several years, “he posted on his Twitter account.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, whose bloc won the most votes during the elections, described the attack as an assault on Iraq, its people, its security and its stability, returning the country to “a state of chaos.” “We cannot allow non-state forces to control Iraq, we cannot live under the threat of riots, violence and terrorism,” he lamented.
Saudi Arabia has also condemned, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the “cowardly terrorist attack” against its “brother” country and reiterates its support to combat terrorism.
Finally, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has also condemned “in the strongest terms” the assassination attempt against the prime minister and expressed its relief after learning that the president had escaped unharmed.
“Terrorism, violence and illegal acts must not be allowed to undermine the stability of Iraq and derail its democratic process. The UN supports all Iraqis who yearn for peace and stability; they deserve nothing less, “concluded the mission.
