Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi says he escaped unharmed from a drone attack on his residence in the high-security Green Zone of Baghdad, the country’s capital.
A drone loaded with explosives hit the building and injured six of his bodyguards in an apparent assassination attempt , authorities said.
Kadhimi asked citizens for “calm and restraint”.
The attack, which comes after violent riots due to the recent results elections, was condemned by both the United States and Iran.
Security sources say that three drones were used in the attack, launched from nearby of the Republic Bridge, on the Tigris River, but two of them were demolished.
At the moment no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place in an area of the city that is home to many government buildings and foreign embassies.
The images published by the Iraqi media show damage to parts of the residence, as well as to an off-road vehicle parked in a garage.
The security forces collected the remains of a small explosives-laden drone for analysis, a security official told Reuters news agency.
“It is premature to say now who carried out the attack ”, explained the official. “We are reviewing our intelligence reports and awaiting the results of the initial investigation to identify the perpetrators.”
The group Islamic State militant used commercial drones equipped with explosives when it occupied parts of northern Iraq, especially during the Battle of Mosul in 1200.
Al Kadhimi, a former intelligence chief , assumed the post of Prime Minister in May last year.
Analysis: The attack could mark a dangerous escalation
By Anna Foster, BBC correspondent in Medium East
Iraq held elections less than a month ago and is now in the long and cumbersome process of trying to form a government coalition .
Participation was an all-time low, only on 41%, and that lack of participation shows that many Iraqis do not believe that there will be a real change.
The pro-Iranian parties fared worse than they expected, losing many of their seats. His supporters have protested the results ever since, holding demonstrations outside Baghdad’s safe Green Zone and calling for votes to be manually counted.
Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al Sadr claimed victory, as his party won the more seats.
He is pushing for a government free from foreign interference, and more importantly, that means both from Iran and the West: he wants to end Tehran’s influence over Iraq’s internal affairs.
These political failures mean tensions are high, and this attempt on the life of Prime Minister al-Kadhimi could turn into a dangerous escalation with far-reaching repercussions.
The attack was widely condemned:
- Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al -Sadr, whose party was the biggest winner in the elections, described it as a terrorist act against the stability of the country that aimed to “ return Iraq to a state of chaos to be controlled by non-state forces. ”
- Iraqi President Barham Saleh said it is a heinous crime against Iraq , and He added in a tweet: “We cannot accept that Iraq will be dragged into chaos and a coup against its constitutional system.”
- The spokesman for the United States Department of State, Ned Price , said that the “apparent act of terrorism” had been “directed at the heart of the Iraqi State”, and the United States is offering his assistance with the investigation.
- The Secretary of the Board Supreme of National Security of Iran, Ali Shamkhani , accused “ think tanks “unidentified foreign (strategic cabinets)” to “create and support terrorist and occupation forces” in Iraq that “had not brought more than insecurity, discord and instability “.
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