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Israel, US likely behind assassination bid against Iraqi PM: Resistance leader

Tuesday, 09 November 2021 4:00 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 09 November 2021 4:17 PM ]

Iraq steps up security following a drone attack on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's residence in Baghdad. (Photo by Reuters)

An Iraqi resistance leader says the Israeli regime and the United States were likely behind the recent failed assassination attempt targeting the Arab country’s prime minister, calling for a thorough investigation into the crime.

Qais al-Khazali, secretary-general of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement, a subdivision of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’ab umbrella anti-terror force, made the remarks on Tuesday in an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera television network.

Khazali said among existing theories that were trying to explain the Sunday development, he would lend more credit to the one that holds the Zionist regime responsible for carrying out the operation in coordination with the United States.

The attack saw explosive-laden drones target Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s residence in the capital Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone.

“We demand a technical and rigorous investigation” into the crime, Khazali said. “Targeting the house of the premier amounts to the targeting of the entire Iraqi political establishment.”

The premier said subsequently that he regretted that “there are some who are seeking to damage Iraq’s security,” but alleged that his government was well aware of the identities of the perpetrators.

No group has claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt, during which several members of the premier’s personal protection team were injured.

Various Iraqi and regional officials have, meanwhile, echoed the premier’s concerns about attempts underway to sow instability and insecurity in the Arab country.

Why were US defense systems deactivated during Baghdad drone attack?

The spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command says military experts should explain why US C-RAM air defense systems were inactivated during the drone attack on the prime minister’s residence in Baghdad.

Recently, the spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command raised questions about the inactivation of the US military’s C-RAM systems — used to detect and destroy incoming rockets and flying objects — during the attack on the Iraqi prime minister’s residence.

The attack came two days after clashes at the entrance of the Green Zone during protests against the results of the country’s October 10 general elections.

The clashes reportedly led to the death of several people and injured scores of others.

Khazali, meanwhile, said his movement likewise disapproved of the election results, and that the “illogical outcome causes us to believe that the elections have been planned to end up with the landslide victory of one party.”

The elections saw Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s party secure 73 seats in the country’s 329-strong parliament.

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Iraq