Iraqi officers arrested for failures in PM attack probe

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A number of officers were arrested for failing to collect fingerprints from evidence during their investigation into an attempted assassination of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, a senior official said on Monday.

The investigation has not yet identified the party responsible for the attack, National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said in a press conference on Monday and invited people to submit tips or evidence.

In the early morning on November 7, explosive-laden drones were used to carry out an attack on the residence of Kadhimi in what security forces described an attempted assassination. Kadhimi escaped unhurt.

The committee investigating the attack concluded that two explosive-laden drones and two vehicles were used in the assault. One drone landed on the roof and did not explode while the other hit the courtyard and blew up. “One of the projectiles exploded in the yard of the house, a sensitive area. This means that there is a direct targeting of the prime minister’s life,” said Araji.

A bomb disposal team was assigned to check the unexploded device and lift fingerprints, but officers “informed the committee that the bomb had been exploded without lifting fingerprints,” said Araji.

The officers on the bomb disposal team, eight officers, including two generals, according to AFP, were arrested for questioning “to know the reasons behind their failure to carry out a basic part of their duty - taking fingerprints to inspect the facts,” said Araji.

The attack came days after supporters of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) stormed the Green Zone, the heavily fortified neighbourhood of Baghdad that houses government offices and diplomatic missions, protesting election results in which their parties did poorly. The final results have still not been released, more than seven weeks after the vote, as the election commission is looking into complaints and allegations of fraud.

The pro-Iran militias mocked the attack on the prime minister’s residence.

Araji said the drones and explosives were produced locally. The explosives “were made of plastic so that they are light and carried by the drone,” he said, adding they were designed to explode “laterally.”

Iraqi officers arrested for failures in PM attack probe

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