President Biden strongly condemns attack on Iraqi PM al-Kadhimi’s home

US President Joe Biden on Sunday said he strongly condemned an attack targeting the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and praised the Iraqi leader's call for “calm, restraint, and dialogue.”

“I strongly condemn the terrorist attack targeting the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Kadhimi. I am relieved the Prime Minister was not injured and commend the leadership he has shown in calling for calm, restraint, and dialogue to protect the institutions of the state and strengthen the democracy Iraqis so richly deserve,” Biden said in a written statement, saying he had instructed his national security team to offer appropriate assistance to Iraqi authorities as they investigate.

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Prime Minister al-Kadhimi escaped unharmed in an assassination attempt by armed drone in Baghdad, officials said on Sunday, in an incident that
raised tension in the country weeks after a general election disputed by Iran-backed militia groups.

Kadhimi appeared in a video footage published by his office on Sunday chairing a meeting with top security commanders to discuss the drone attack.

“The cowardly terrorist attack that targeted the home of the prime minister last night with the aim of assassinating him, is a serious targeting of the Iraqi state by criminal armed groups,” his office said in a statement after the meeting.

Six members of Kadhimi’s personal protection force stationed outside his residence in the Green Zone were wounded, security sources told Reuters.

Three drones were used in the attack, including two that were downed by security forces while a third drone hit the residence, state news agency INA quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying.

A spokesman for the armed forces commander in chief said the security situation was stable inside the fortified Green Zone -- which houses the residence, government buildings and foreign embassies -- following the attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Read more:

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