Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Baghdad on early Sunday escaped unhurt from an attack of a Drone Laden with explosives targeted his residence. The Iraqi military called it an attempted assassination.

Several members of Kadhimi’s personal protection injured in the attack said security sources, came after protests in the Iraqi capital over the result of a general election last month turned violent. The groups leading protests and complaints about the result of the October vote are heavily-armed Iran-backed militias which lost much of their parliamentary power in the election. They have alleged voting and vote-counting irregularities.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on Kadhimi’s residence in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies. Iraqi military in a statement said that the attack targeted Kadhimi’s residence and that he was in good health. It provided no further detail.

Kadhimi’s official Twitter account said the prime minister was safe and called for calm. According to the government official sources, Kadhimi’s residence had been hit by at least one explosion and confirmed that the prime minister was safe. Six members of Kadhimi’s personal protection force stationed outside his residence had been injured, said officials.

Breaking – #Iraq Heavy gunfire in the heavily fortified Green Zone
& reports of drone attack on the house of Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi !

Tension has risen after the October elex & more recently after clashes btw the police & protesters who support Iran-backed militias pic.twitter.com/PM346RW2Xh

— Rafid Jaboori رافد جبّوري (@RafidFJ) November 6, 2021

Western diplomats based nearby in the Green Zone said they heard explosions and gunfire in the area. Supporters of Iran-aligned militia groups which have grown their power in parliament and government in recent years have alleged voter fraud and irregularities in counting the results of the October 10 election.

Protests by supporters of parties who dispute the results of the vote turned violent on Friday when demonstrators pelted police with stones near the Green Zone, injuring several officers. The police responded with tear gas and live gunfire, killing at least one demonstrator, according to security and hospital sources in Baghdad.