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IRAQ PM MUSTAFA AL-KADHIMI SURVIVES ‘ASSASSINATION’ ATTEMPT

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on early Sunday survived an ‘assassination’ attempt after a rocket attack at his house. Iraqi military said that Kadhimi was targeted in a “failed assassination attempt” after an explosive-laden drone struck his residence in Baghdad, reported Al Arabiya. Kadhimi was unharmed in the attack and is in good health, the […]

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on early Sunday survived an ‘assassination’ attempt after a rocket attack at his house. Iraqi military said that Kadhimi was targeted in a “failed assassination attempt” after an explosive-laden drone struck his residence in Baghdad, reported Al Arabiya. Kadhimi was unharmed in the attack and is in good health, the military said, adding that it was taking the necessary measures in connection with the failed attempt.

Kadhimi took to Twitter soon after the attack and said he was fine and called for calm and restraint from the public. “The rockets of treachery will not discourage the believers… The steadfastness and insistence of our heroic security forces will not falter as they work to preserve the security of the people, achieve justice and enforce the law,” he said.

“I am fine, praise be to God, among my people, and I call for calm and restraint from everyone, for the sake of Iraq,” Kadhimi added. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Baghdad reported a heavy gunfire exchange near the Green Zone, where Kadhimi’s house is located along with the US embassy and other missions.

Earlier on Saturday, pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi Shia militia supporters have camped outside one of the gates of the Green Zone, demonstrating against the results of last month’s election, a day after a protestor was killed in clashes with security forces.

The United States condemns the reported drone attack targeting the house of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.

“We are following the reported drone attack targeting the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Kadhimi. We are relieved to learn the Prime Minister was unharmed. This apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state,” Price said in a statement. He added that the US is in close contact with the Iraqi security forces and has offered assistance in investigating the attack.

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said on Sunday that the early morning drone attack on the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is an instigation to rebellion associated with “foreign think tanks.”

The United Nations Mission in Iraq on Sunday condemned the assassination attempt targeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and called for calm and caution.

“The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) condemns in the strongest terms the assassination attempt against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The Mission expresses its relief that the Prime Minister was not hurt in the drone attack on his residence in Baghdad,” the mission said in a statement.

Riyadh condemns an attempt on the life of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi that was made earlier in the day, calling it a “cowardly terrorist act,” the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of the cowardly terrorist act that targeted the Iraqi Prime Minister, and affirms that it stands united by the brotherly Iraq, government and people, in confronting all terrorists who are trying in vain to prevent brotherly Iraq from restoring its health and role, consolidating its security and stability, and enhancing its prosperity and development, “the ministry said on Twitter. Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait also condemned the attack.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry qualified Sunday’s attempt on the life of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi as a terrorist attack, the Iraqi News Agency reported. The ministry reportedly said that the attack was carried out with the help of three drones, two of which were downed.

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