Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped an assassination attempt today leaving some security guards with injuries. One in three unknown drones managed to enter the Green Zone in Baghdad and targeted al-Kadhimi’s residence by explosives.
Iraqi prime minister has dodged a terrorist attempt following a drone attack on his residence. The war drones targeted al-Kadhimi’s house in the capital further complicating the conditions in the country. Iraq has been on the precipice of a chaos following October parliamentary elections.
Although Prime Minister suffered no harms, security officials announced that a number of his personal protection unit inflicted injuries in the incident. Interior Ministry informed state TV that security troops in the region intercepted two other drones while the third one managed to target PM’s apartment.
Al-Kadhimi’s house locates in in Baghdad’s Green Zone, which contains administrative facilities and international embassies and offices. “Al-Kadhimi was not harmed, while some people in the house suffered injuries. They are receiving treatment,” said Saad Maan, the ministry’s spokesman following the incident.
Iraqi PM urged serenity and control in a tweet. “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 posted on Twitter. He then emerged on TV, apparently sound, and looked calm in face and composure. He stressed in the interview that “cowardly rocket and drone attacks don’t build homelands and don’t build a future.”
No party, group, or militia accepted responsibility for the Sunday incident. The assault, according to Iraqi President, was a “terrorist aggression” and a horrific crime against Iraqi nation. “This requires unity against the evildoers targeting the security of this country and its people’s safety,” Barham Salih asserted in his twitter account. There has been no complementary sign of a potential coup yet.
Behind and Beyond Mustafa al-Kadhimi Assassination
The blast happened early on Sunday morning, less than 48 hours after protests in Baghdad that turned violent by security forces. The suspicious election results instigated dissatisfaction in Iraqi society during the past month.
Hours after the al-Kadhimi Assassination attempt, western and regional media started a campaign to correlate it with the Friday protests. During the demonstrations, the people were victims of assaults by security guards who fired tear gas and shot the protesters.
The opposition groups and militia sharply condemned the attack and described it as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Some groups blamed foreign troops for the attack claiming that it’s a new plot to thwart the attentions from the election protests.
Multiple groups, governments, and parties condemned the attack calling it a new curious “sedition” by unknown sources. While unclear with the goal, it seems that the main objective is to foil the wave of dissatisfaction with the election process and call for the recount of all ballots.
Al-Kadhimi has been a prime minister with political tendencies close to Iranian policies. The claims about Iran’s role, though the militia in Iraq in has influence over, seems unjustifiable. Iran has had a major role in providing security and economic assistance for Iraq in recent years. Tehran’s officials were one of the firsts to abhor the attack calling for clarification of the perpetrators.
The social atmosphere of Iraq through the past months has been negative towards the foreign influence and intervention. The main targets have been foreign troops whose presence and self-willed conducts in the country put its autonomy at stake.
The assassination attempt against Al-Kadhimi, far from the reality behind it, promises months of instability. Iraq has just passed a severe security turmoil and a new one serves only one group; western troops.
