Militia ‘tried to murder Iraqi PM with Iranian-made drones’

A weapon shell is pictured outside of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi's residence following an assassination attempt by an armed drone in Baghdad. (Reuters)
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Updated 09 November 2021
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Militia ‘tried to murder Iraqi PM with Iranian-made drones’

  • Quds Force commander urges Tehran-backed paramilitaries to avoid escalation

JEDDAH: The attempted assassination of Iraq’s prime minister was carried out by at least one Tehran-backed militia using explosives-laden drones made in Iran, security officials and militia sources said on Monday.

Mustafa Al-Kadhimi escaped unhurt when three drones targeted his residence in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday. Two of the weapons were intercepted and destroyed, but a third detonated, damaging the building and injuring several of his personal bodyguards.

The incident has sent tensions soaring in Iraq, where powerful Iran-backed paramilitaries are disputing the result of a legislative election last month that dealt them a crushing defeat at the polls and greatly reduced their strength in parliament. Many Iraqis fear the tension could spiral into broad civil conflict if further such incidents occur.

Baghdad's streets were emptier and quieter than usual on Monday, and additional military and police checkpoints in the capital appeared intent on keeping a lid on potential violence.

Iraqi officials and analysts said the attack was meant as a message from militias that they were willing to resort to violence if excluded from the formation of a government, or if their grip on large areas of the state apparatus were challenged.

“It was a clear message of, ‘We can create chaos in Iraq — we have the guns, we have the means’,” said Hamdi Malik, a specialist on the militias at the Washington Institute.

Militia sources said the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards overseas Quds Force travelled to Iraq on Sunday after the attack to meet paramilitary leaders and urge them to avoid any further escalation of violence.

Two Iraqi security officials told the Reuters news agency that the Kata’ib Hezbollah and Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq groups carried out the attack in tandem. A militia source said Kata’ib Hezbollah was involved but could not confirm the role of Asa’ib.

One of the Iraqi security officials said the drones used were of the “quadcopter” type containing high explosives capable of damaging buildings and armored vehicles.

The official said they were the same type of Iranian-made drones and explosives used in attacks this year on US forces in Iraq, carried out by Kata’ib Hezbollah.

Malik said the drone strike indicated that the Iran-backed militias were positioning themselves in opposition to the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, who also controls a militia — a scenario that would hurt Iran’s influence and therefore would probably be opposed by Tehran.

“I don’t think Iran wants a Shiite-Shiite civil war. It would weaken its position in Iraq and allow other groups to grow stronger,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council condemned the attack “in the strongest terms.”

“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice,” it said.


Suspected crypto kidnappings mastermind arrested in Morocco

Updated 4 sec ago
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Suspected crypto kidnappings mastermind arrested in Morocco

PARIS: France’s justice minister on Wednesday said that Morocco had arrested a man suspected of ordering a series of kidnappings targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in France.
“I sincerely thank Morocco for this arrest, which demonstrates excellent judicial cooperation between our two countries, particularly in the fight against organized crime,” Gerald Darmanin said on X.

Turkiye’s AJet to start flights to Syria’s Damascus

Updated 3 min 40 sec ago
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Turkiye’s AJet to start flights to Syria’s Damascus

AJet said flights from Sabiha Gokcen airport will begin from Jun. 16
Flights to Damascus from Ankara will start from Jun. 17

ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines subsidiary AJet said it will start flights to Damascus International from Istanbul and Ankara airports in mid-June.

AJet said in a statement that flights from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport will begin from Jun. 16. Flights will initially take place four times per week before operating daily from July, it added.

Flights to Damascus from the Turkish capital Ankara will start from Jun. 17, three-times per week, the carrier also said.

Turkish Airlines resumed flights to Damascus in January after a 13-year suspension.

Turkiye, a close ally of the new government in Damascus, has pledged to support the country’s reconstruction. Ankara has already helped with the improvement and maintenance of Syria’s airports, the Turkish transport minister has said.

UAE president meets Egypt’s Sisi in Abu Dhabi

Updated 26 min 54 sec ago
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UAE president meets Egypt’s Sisi in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed met his counterpart Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.  
El-Sisi, who is on a visit to the UAE, arrived at the presidential airport and was received by the UAE leader along with a number of senior officials.


Turkiye backing Syria’s military and has no immediate withdrawal plans, defense minister says

Updated 04 June 2025
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Turkiye backing Syria’s military and has no immediate withdrawal plans, defense minister says

  • Guler says Israel de-confliction talks continue
  • Turkish troops stay for now in Syria, he tells Reuters

ANKARA: Turkiye is training and advising Syria’s armed forces and helping improve its defenses, and has no immediate plans for the withdrawal or relocation of its troops stationed there, Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters.
Turkiye has emerged as a key foreign ally of Syria’s new government since rebels — some of them backed for years by Ankara — ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December to end his family’s five-decade rule.
It has promised to help rebuild neighboring Syria and facilitate the return of millions of Syrian civil war refugees, and played a key role last month getting US and European sanctions on Syria lifted.
The newfound Turkish influence in Damascus has raised Israeli concerns and risked a standoff or worse in Syria between the regional powers.
In written answers to questions from Reuters, Guler said Turkiye and Israel — which carried out its latest airstrikes on southern Syria late on Tuesday — are continuing de-confliction talks to avoid military accidents in the country.
Turkiye’s overall priority in Syria is preserving its territorial integrity and unity, and ridding it of terrorism, he said, adding Ankara was supporting Damascus in these efforts.
“We have started providing military training and consultancy services, while taking steps to increase Syria’s defense capacity,” Guler said, without elaborating on those steps.
Named to the post by President Tayyip Erdogan two years ago, Guler said it was too early to discuss possible withdrawal or relocation of the more than 20,000 Turkish troops in Syria.
Ankara controlled swathes of northern Syria and established dozens of bases there after several cross-border operations in recent years against Kurdish militants it deems terrorists.
This can “only be re-evaluated when Syria achieves peace and stability, when the threat of terrorism in the region is fully removed, when our border security is fully ensured, and when the honorable return of people who had to flee is done,” he said.
NATO member Turkiye has accused Israel of undermining Syrian peace and rebuilding with its military operations there in recent months and, since late 2023, has also fiercely criticized Israel’s assault on Gaza.
But the two regional powers have been quietly working to establish a de-confliction mechanism in Syria.
Guler described the talks as “technical level meetings to establish a de-confliction mechanism to prevent unwanted events” or direct conflict, as well as “a communication and coordination structure.”
“Our efforts to form this line and make it fully operational continue. Yet it should not be forgotten that the de-confliction mechanism is not a normalization,” he told Reuters.


Turkiye arrests five mayors from CHP opposition party

Updated 04 June 2025
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Turkiye arrests five mayors from CHP opposition party

  • The latest round of arrests brings to nine the total number of jailed CHP mayors

ISTANBUL: Turkish police arrested five opposition mayors early Wednesday alongside 17 others as part of a probe into corruption allegations at CHP-held municipalities, a party spokesman told AFP.

The latest arrests targeted a former lawmaker and three CHP mayors in Istanbul, and two more in the southern province of Adana, the spokesman said.

The latest round of arrests brings to nine the total number of jailed CHP mayors, including Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The latest investigation began at the weekend when a court issued arrest orders for 47 municipal officials in connection with four separate corruption investigations centered on Istanbul, local media reported.

The March 19 arrest and jailing of Imamoglu sparked the biggest street protests Turkiye had seen in more than a decade.

Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul City Hall, including Imamoglu’s private secretary and his private protection officer.

The CHP has nominated Imamoglu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028 but whether he can run in the elections depends on the fate of numerous trials and probes.