Drone Strike Hits Near Moroccan Embassy in Baghdad
Marrakech – A drone strike targeted the headquarters of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service on Saturday morning in Baghdad’s Mansour district, just meters from the Moroccan Embassy. No casualties or material damage were reported at the diplomatic mission.
The intelligence service confirmed the attack killed one of its officers. It described the incident as “a terrorist attack carried out by outlaw groups.”
General Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, said the drone struck the intelligence building at around 10:00 a.m. local time (7:00 GMT).
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Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a security official said the strike targeted a telecommunications building linked to the intelligence service. The facility cooperates with US advisors as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.
A second drone, apparently filming the operation, crashed into a private members’ sports club frequented by Iraqi elites and foreign diplomats, the same source said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility. However, factions affiliated with what is known as the “Iraqi resistance” later claimed the attack followed “the escape of a number of US intelligence personnel” due to ongoing shelling of the US Embassy and Victoria Base. The claim has not been confirmed by official sources.
The intelligence service dismissed the strike as “a desperate attempt aimed at deterring the service from carrying out its professional duties,” vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The attack came hours after at least three overnight drone strikes targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub at Baghdad International Airport.
One security official said a fire broke out near the base following the third strike. A fighter from the Popular Mobilization Forces was also killed late Friday in a separate strike on a military airfield in northern Iraq. The group blamed the US and Israel.
Iraq has been reluctantly drawn into the wider regional conflict triggered by the joint US-Israeli military attacks against Iran since February 28.
Iran-backed groups have since claimed near-daily attacks on US interests, primarily in Iraq. The Pentagon acknowledged Thursday for the first time that US combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in the country during the ongoing conflict.
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