IRAQ: PM calls for restraint after drone strike on his home

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi said he was unhurt and appealed for “calm and restraint” after a drone attack on his residence early Sunday heightened political tensions in the war-scarred country.

The attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone was the first to target the residence of Kadhemi, who has been in power since May 2020. It came as Iraq’s political parties negotiate alliances over who will run the next government after elections last month.

The big winner, with more than 70 seats according to the initial count, was the movement of Moqtada Sadr, a Shiite Muslim preacher who campaigned as a nationalist and critic of Iran.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, which left two bodyguards wounded, according to a security source.

Photos issued by Kadhemi’s office showed debris strewn on the ground below a damaged exterior stairway and a door that had been dislodged.

“My residence has been the target of a cowardly assault. Praise God, I am fine”, he then said in a short video shared on social media.

‘Heart of state’

“This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

“We cannot accept dragging Iraq into chaos and to a coup against the constitutional system.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said it “strongly encourages all sides to take responsibility for de-escalation and to engage in dialogue to ease political tensions, upholding the national interest of Iraq”.

Mounting tensions

Hundreds of Hashed supporters clashed with police on Friday while protesting near the Green Zone to vent their fury over the preliminary result.

Several hundred supporters of pro-Iranian groups returned to the edge of the Green Zone on Saturday to protest, and some burned a portrait of the prime minister, whom they called a “criminal”.

According to initial tallies, the Conquest won around 15 of the 329 seats, down from the 48 it held previously, which made it the second-largest bloc.

READ ALSO: Iraq: Iran blames ‘foreign think tanks’ for assassination bid on Iraqi PM

Kadhemi brought forward the ballot, originally planned for next year, in a concession to anti-government protests over endemic corruption, the influence of Iran, unemployment and failing public services.

Other drone attacks in Iraq have occurred over the last few months particularly against American interests.

In late October the Treasury Department sanctioned Brigadier General Saeed Aghajani, who leads the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command.