A drone attack targeted Iraq’s intelligence services in a high-end residential district in central Baghdad on Saturday morning, according to a senior security official.
General Saad Maan, head of the Iraqi government’s Security Media Cell, said in a brief statement that an unmanned aerial vehicle struck the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the Mansour area at around 10:00 local time (09:00 Cyprus time).
An Iraqi security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier that the attack appeared to target a “telecommunications building” linked to the intelligence agency, which works with American advisers as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.
Iraq has been increasingly drawn into the regional escalation triggered by the US-Israel strikes on Iran on 28 February, despite not being a direct participant.
Increasing tensions
Recent strikes have focused on Iran-backed armed groups, which in turn have claimed responsibility for near-daily attacks on US-linked interests, primarily in Iraq but also across the wider region.
Late on Friday, a fighter from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi was killed in an airstrike on a military airfield in northern Iraq. The group blamed both the United States and Israel for the attack.
On Thursday, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that attack helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq during the latest round of hostilities.
Overnight from Friday into Saturday, at least three drone attacks also targeted a US diplomatic and logistical hub hosting American military personnel at Baghdad International Airport, according to two security officials.
The incident marks a further escalation in tensions, raising concerns about Iraq’s stability as it becomes increasingly entangled in the broader regional conflict.