PM:10:02:12/03/2023
2712 View
+
-
SULAIMANI — Former Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in an
interview with al-Sharq al-Awsat on Saturday (March 11) he has survived three
assassination attempts.
He said the first attempt came after he had launched a
campaign at Iraq’s border crossings to stop smuggling and the theft of money
from state funds.
Kadhimi said the campaign was a success and his helicopter
came under fire from militias on his return to Baghdad from the city of
al-Amarah. The city is located in the border province of Maysan where smuggling
of arms and narcotics occurs through Iran.
He stated no one was arrested over the incident.
The former prime minister told al-Sharq al-Awsat the second
attempt occurred when he attended the funeral of Sunni families who had been
killed in cold blood by an armed group in al-Farhatiya village in Salahadin.
Kadhimi said rockets were fired at his vehicle while he was
heading to the funeral along with security ministers.
He said those responsible for the incident were members of a
prominent militia from among non-state armed groups and that they had confessed
to the crime and later retracted it, claiming the rocket launch was part of
exercises.
The third attempt occurred in 2021 when armed drones were
launched at Kadhimi’s home in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Kadhimi stated he was at the ground level of his house and
the rockets struck the upper levels, causing a great deal of damage.
He said it was necessary to announce the attempt after it
was publicized in the media.
Six of Kadhimi’s bodyguards were injured in the
assassination attempt on Kadhimi’s home on November 7, 2021. The PM was unhurt.
National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said on November 29
an investigative committee had "not yet accused a person or entity,” but
concluded the drones were made in Iraq.
(NRT Digital Media)