Baghdad: Dozens dead, wounded, in shelling drone strikes
The Iraqi Security said that the Green Zone in Baghdad was bombed by four missiles. They indicated that the missiles fell inside the residential complex.
Meanwhile, local medical sources reported that more than 30 people have been killed in the confrontations inside the Green Zone. This included 23 supporters of the leader Muqtada al-Sadr. The number of wounded surpassed 700, including more than 100 security personnel.
Sporadic clashes spread in the vicinity of the Green Zone in central Baghdad since the morning. Missiles has caused material damage, and their source was the Al-Habiba and Al-Baladiyat areas, east of Baghdad, on the Green Zone. A senior security source also reported that the US embassy in Baghdad sounded the sirens at dawn, after observing unknown drones flying over the area.
After a quiet night, on Tuesday morning, violent confrontations resumed between supporters of al-Sadr, the army, and elements of the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Forces. Firing from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades is heard throughout the capital, coming from the Green Zone.
The Iraqi government imposed a nationwide curfew since Monday evening. Schools, public administrations and stores remained closed. The streets of Baghdad were empty except for few cars, while the army and security forces were enforcing the curfew.
Baghdad’s Green Zone, where embassies and government institutions are located, witnessed chaos yesterday, Monday, after Muqtada al-Sadr announced his retirement from politics “permanently”. Thousands of his supporters stormed the government palace known to the Iraqis as the “Republican Palace”.
Iraq has been suffering from a severe political crisis since the legislative elections in October (October) 2021. The failure of the leaders of Iraqi politics to agree on the name of the new prime minister add to the crisis. Iraq remains one of the world’s largest oil producers, without a new government or president since the legislative elections.
