Three drones used in attack on Iraq PM, two shot down: Sources

The attack on the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi early Sunday was carried out using three drones, two of which were shot down, security sources said.

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They were “launched from a site near Republic Bridge” which crosses the Tigris River in Baghdad, before flying towards the Green Zone where Kadhimi lives, one source said, confirming that “two drones were shot down”.

Kadhimi later said in a video he was unhurt and appealed for “calm and restraint” after a drone attack on his residence in Baghdad’s Green Zone early Sunday as political tensions mount in the country.

“I’m doing fine, praise be to God, and I call for calm and restraint on the part of everyone for the good of Iraq,” Kadhemi wrote on Twitter, after what his office called a “failed assassination attempt”.

Two security sources earlier confirmed the attack in the heavily-guarded Green Zone, which also hosts the US embassy and is frequently targeted by rocket attacks.

A large number of security forces were deployed in and around the Zone following the attack, according to a security source.

The attack came amid soaring political tensions over the results of October 10 elections.

Preliminary results of that poll saw the Conquest (Fatah) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran multi-party Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary network, suffer a substantial decline in its parliamentary seats. The group’s supporters have denounced the outcome as “fraud.”

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