Security

Iraqi PM says rocket, drone attacks disturb 'security and stability'

"We reiterate once again that the combat role of the American forces and the international coalition forces in Iraq has ended."

Kurdistan 24 2022/01/05 17:19

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (Photo: Kadhimi's Media Office)

Iraq Iraq Baghdad PMF US Coalition

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on Wednesday that recent rocket attacks targeting Iraqi bases hosting US military advisors have disturbed the country's security and stability.

Kadhimi's statement came during a ministerial council session he chaired in the capital city of Baghdad.

"We reiterate once again that the combat role of the American forces and the international coalition forces in Iraq has ended, and all bases have been returned to Iraqi forces," he said, adding that there are currently only "a number of advisers working alongside our security forces."

Successive rocket and drone attacks have in recent days targeted Iraqi bases hosting advisors of the US-led coalition against ISIS, with Kadhimi condemning the violence which, he stated, "certainly disturbs security and stability."

The latest such incident came overnight Tuesday when a rocket launched from Baghdad's al-Jihad neighborhood landed in Camp Victory, a facility in the capital's international airport that hosts coalition advisors.

The Iraqi military communications center did not mention if the attack caused any damage but noted the security forces had seized the suspected rocket launcher and a 240 mm rocket al-Jihad neighborhood.

Read More: Rocket fired at Baghdad airport

Iranian-backed elements of the Hashd al-Shaabi militias have been repeatedly accused of being behind such assaults, the latest of which come just over two years after a US drone strike outside the Baghdad airport killed Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani was the Iranian general responsible for coordinating Tehran's regional proxies that were attacking coalition troops relentlessly before his assassination. The drone operation also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a top Hashd al-Shaabi figure and Iran ally.