{"id":980522,"date":"2021-11-07T10:43:54","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T15:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=980522"},"modified":"2021-11-07T10:43:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-07T15:43:55","slug":"iraqi-pm-survives-assassination-attempt-as-tensions-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iraqi-pm-survives-assassination-attempt-as-tensions-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraqi PM Survives Assassination Attempt as Tensions Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Firaqi-pm-survives-assassination-attempt-as-tensions-rise%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=980522&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Mustafa-al-Khadhimi-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">BAGHDAD (AP) \u2014 Troops deployed around Baghdad on Sunday following the failed assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted the residence of Iraq\u2019s prime minister. The attack significantly ramped up tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept last month\u2019s parliamentary election results.<\/p>\n<p>Seven of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi\u2019s security guards were wounded in the attack by at least two armed drones in Baghdad\u2019s heavily fortified Green Zone area, according to two Iraqi officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give official statements.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Al-Kadhimi was unharmed. He later appeared on Iraqi television, seated behind a desk in a white shirt, looking calm and composed. His left hand appeared to be wrapped in a bandage. An aide confirmed a light cut.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCowardly rocket and drone attacks don\u2019t build homelands and don\u2019t build a future,\u201d he said. Later on Sunday, he received Iraqi President Barham Salih and headed a government security meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Residents of Baghdad heard the sound of an explosion followed by heavy gunfire from the direction of the Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and government offices. Handout photos showed the damage in al-Kadhimi\u2019s residence, including smashed windows and doors blown off their hinges.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>There was no claim for the attack, but suspicion immediately fell on Iran-backed militias who had been publicly attacking al-Kadhimi and issuing threats. It came amid a stand-off between security forces and the pro-Iran Shiite militias whose supporters have been camped outside the Green Zone for nearly a month after they rejected the results of Iraq\u2019s parliamentary elections, in which they lost around two-thirds of their seats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe assassination attempt is a dramatic escalation, crossing a line in unprecedented fashion that may have violent reverberations,\u201d wrote Ranj Alaaldin, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, in a post on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>Protests turned deadly Friday when the demonstrators tried to enter the Green Zone. Security forces used tear gas and live ammunition. There was an exchange of fire in which one protester affiliated with the militias was killed. Dozens of security forces were injured. Al-Khadimi ordered an investigation to determine what sparked the clashes and who violated orders not to open fire.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the leaders of the most powerful militia factions loyal to Iran openly blamed al-Kadhimi for Friday\u2019s clashes and the protester\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe blood of martyrs is to hold you accountable,\u201d said Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, addressing al-Kadhimi at a funeral held for the protester Saturday. \u201cThe protesters only had one demand against fraud in elections. Responding like this (with live fire) means you are the first responsible for this fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>The funeral was attended by leaders of the mostly Shiite Iran-backed factions who together are known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Khazali, in a statement Sunday, suggested the militias were being framed, calling for an investigation and for the punishment of the perpetrators.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Al-Kadhimi, 54, was Iraq\u2019s former intelligence chief before becoming prime minister in May last year. He is considered by the militias to be close to the U.S., and has tried to balance between Iraq\u2019s alliances with both the U.S. and Iran. Prior to the elections, he hosted several rounds of talks between regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad in a bid to ease regional tensions.<\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh in a briefing Sunday condemned the assassination attempt on al-Khadimi and indirectly blamed the U.S. He said to be aware of \u201cthe conspiracies that target the security and progress of Iraq,\u201d without elaborating.<\/p>\n<p>Khatibzadeh said such incidents \u201care in the interests of those parties that have invaded the stability, security, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq over the past 18 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>The U.S. strongly denounced the attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis apparent act of terrorism, which we strongly condemn, was directed at the heart of the Iraqi state,\u201d said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.<\/p>\n<p>Egypt\u2019s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi also condemned the assassination attempt. Writing on Facebook, he called on all sides in Iraq to \u201ccalm down, renounce violence and join forces to preserve the country\u2019s stability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saudi Arabia issued a statement of support for stability in Iraq and said it strongly condemned the \u201ccowardly terrorist attack that targeted Iraq\u2019s prime minister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The United States, the U.N. Security Council and others have praised the Oct. 10 election, which was mostly violence-free and without major technical glitches.<\/p>\n<p>But following the vote, militia supporters pitched tents near the Green Zone, rejecting the election results and threatening violence unless their demands for a recount were met.<\/p>\n<p>The unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud have cast a shadow over the vote. The standoff with the militia supporters has also increased tensions among rival Shiite factions that could spill into violence and threaten Iraq\u2019s newfound relative stability.<\/p>\n<p>The election was held months ahead of schedule in response to mass protests in late 2019, which saw tens of thousands in Baghdad and predominantly Shiite southern provinces rally against endemic corruption, poor services and unemployment. They also protested against the heavy-handed interference of neighboring Iran in Iraq\u2019s affairs through Iran-backed militias.<\/p>\n<p>The militias lost some popularity since the 2018 vote, when they made big election gains. Many hold them responsible for suppressing the 2019 protests, and for challenging the state\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest gains were made by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who won the largest number of parliament seats, 73 out of 329. While he maintains good relations with Iran, al-Sadr publicly opposes external interference in Iraq\u2019s affairs.<\/p>\n<p>El-Sissi; French President Emmanuel Macron; Jordan\u2019s King Abdullah and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati were among leaders who called al-Kadhimi on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BAGHDAD (AP) \u2014 Troops deployed around Baghdad on Sunday following the failed assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted the residence of Iraq\u2019s prime minister. The attack significantly ramped up &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-980522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=980522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=980522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=980522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=980522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}