Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi says a drone attack on his home inside Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone left him unharmed.
Officials said a drone laden with explosives struck the building, injuring six of his bodyguards in an apparent assassination attempt.
Mr. Kadhimi urged “calm and restraint on everyone’s part.”
Both the United States and Iran condemned the attack, which occurred in the aftermath of violent protests over recent election results.
According to security sources, three drones were used in the attack, which was launched from near the Republic Bridge on the Tigris River, but two were shot down.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in an area of the city with many government buildings and foreign embassies.
Security forces collected the remains of a small explosives-laden drone for examination, according to an unnamed security official quoted by Reuters.
“It’s premature to say who carried out the attack at this point,” the official was quoted as saying. “We’re reviewing intelligence reports and waiting for preliminary investigation results before pointing fingers at perpetrators.”
Also Read: Police Opens Criminal Investigation Into Astroworld Festival Crowd Surge in Texas
The Islamic State militant group used commercial drones equipped with explosives when it controlled parts of northern Iraq, most notably during the battle for Mosul in 2017.
Mr. al-Kadhimi, a former intelligence chief, was sworn in last May.
Protests by supporters of Iran-aligned political groups have taken place near the Green Zone in recent weeks.
They have been protesting the results of the general election last month, which they claim were tainted by voting irregularities.
During this week’s violent clashes with security forces, more than 100 people were injured.
Sadr, a nationalist cleric, claims victory in Iraq’s election.
US combat forces will leave Iraq by the end of the year.
The drone attack drew widespread condemnation: Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose party won the most votes in the election, called it a terrorist act aimed at “returning Iraq to a state of chaos to be controlled by non-state forces.” • President Barham Saleh called it a heinous crime against Iraq, adding in a tweet: “We cannot accept that Iraq will be dragged into chaos and a coup against its constitutional system.”
According to US State Department spokesman Ned Price, the “apparent act of terrorism” was “directed at the heart of the Iraqi state,” and the US is offering its assistance in the investigation.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused unnamed “foreign think tanks” of “creating and supporting terrorist and occupying forces” in Iraq, which “brought nothing but insecurity, discord, and instability.”
