IRAQ PM MUSTAFA AL-KADHIMI SURVIVES ‘ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT’

Sun 07 November 2021:

According to Iraq’s military, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped an assassination attempt after a drone equipped with explosives struck his Baghdad apartment.

Although Al-Kadhimi was unharmed, security sources told Reuters that at least six members of the prime minister’s personal protection unit were injured in the incident on Sunday.

A strong explosion was heard in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. The Green Zone hosts most foreign diplomatic missions, including the US Embassy.

Iraq’s military says Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt after a drone laden with explosives targeted his residence in the capital, Baghdad.#MustafaalKadhimi #AlKadhimi #مصطفى_الكاظمي #Iraqi #العراق pic.twitter.com/CbJBq05Jdp

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) November 7, 2021

“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 said.

The early morning attack came after deadly protests in the Iraqi capital over the result of a general election on October 10.

The groups leading protests are heavily armed Iran-backed militias that lost much of their parliamentary power in the election. They have alleged voting and vote-counting irregularities.

He later appeared on Iraqi television, seated behind a desk in a white shirt, looking calm and composed. “Cowardly rocket and drone attacks don’t build homelands and don’t build a future,” he said.

Iraq PM @MAKadhimi gives a short speech following the assassination attempt assuring people he and those working with him are unhurt and calling on all factions for a constructive dialogue#iraqelection2021 #AlKadhimi pic.twitter.com/ho3K8jJi8L

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) November 7, 2021

The attack on al-home Kadhimi’s in Baghdad’s guarded Green Zone, which includes government offices and international embassies, was not immediately claimed by any party.

The botched assassination attempt was carried out by “an explosives-laden drone,” according to an Iraqi military statement, and the prime minister was in “good health.”

“The security forces are taking the necessary measures in connection with this failed attempt,” it said.

Last Monday, the Iraqi election commission announced that it had begun recounting ballot boxes in 2,000 voting stations after receiving 1,400 complaints from political groups.

When the recount is finished, the commission will declare the final results and submit them to the Federal Court (Constitutional Court) for approval.

Muqtada al-party Sadr’s received the most seats in parliament, with 73, followed by Parliament Speaker Mohamed Halbousi’s Taqaddum bloc with 37 and the State of Law Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, with 34.

The results have already been challenged by the Coalition, which won 17 seats in the 2018 elections compared to 48 seats in the previous election.

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