Top Iraqi intelligence officer survives assassination attempt: Interior Ministry

The assassination attempt was “unsuccessful” and caused minor damage to the house

Kurdistan 24 2022/05/04 16:35

Lt. Gen. Ahmed Taha Hashim, popularly known as Abu Ragheef, is the head of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior's intelligence wing. (Photo: Handout/Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency)

Iraq Ahmed Taha Hashim Iraqi Ministry of Interior Deterring Corruption Committee Rocket attacks Baghdad PMF Mustafa al-Kadhimi

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A top Iraqi intelligence officer survived an assassination attempt in Baghdad early Wednesday, the Ministry of Interior announced.

A Katyusha rocket fired by “outlaw groups” from the eastern side of the capital hit the house of Lt. Gen. Ahmed Taha Hashim, popularly known as Abu Ragheef, on Wednesday. Hashim is the head of intelligence at the Ministry of Interior and also heads the Deterring Corruption Committee established in August 2020.

The assassination attempt was “unsuccessful” and caused only minor damage to the house, the interior ministry’s intelligence arm said in a statement on Wednesday.

Security forces located the rocket launch site, and an investigation is ongoing.

The Federal Information and Investigations Agency (FIIA) that Hashim heads is a strong intelligence apparatus with more than 50 offices throughout the country. He is believed to have been behind the arrest of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commander Qassim Musleh in 2021. Musleh was arrested on allegations that he was involved in the murder of an activist.

This was not the first such assassination attempt targeting a high-ranking government official. In November 2021, three explosives-laden drones targeted the residence of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.