Iraqi President Slams Assassination Attempt against PM, Warns of Coup against Constitution

Iraqi President Barham Salih. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi President Barham Salih. (Reuters file photo)
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Iraqi President Slams Assassination Attempt against PM, Warns of Coup against Constitution

Iraqi President Barham Salih. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi President Barham Salih. (Reuters file photo)

Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned on Sunday the failed assassination attempt against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

In a tweet, he said: “The terrorist attack that targeted the prime minister is a dangerous violation and heinous crime against Iraq.”

The attack demands a “united stand to confront evildoers that are undermining the security of this nation and safety of its people,” he added.

“We cannot tolerate that Iraq be dragged towards chaos and for a coup to be staged against its constitutional system,” he declared.

A drone laden with explosives targeted Kadhimi’s residence in Baghdad early on Sunday. The PM escaped unhurt.

The attack, which security sources said injured several members of Kadhimi’s personal protection detail, came after protests in the Iraqi capital over the result of a general election last month turned violent.

Head of the Shiite Hikma movement, Ammar al-Hakim condemned the attack against the PM’s residence, warning against attempts to undermine the state.

In a tweet, he said the “dangerous development” will expose the state to danger and “threaten Iraq’s image before the international public.”

The attack undermines the achievements that have been made on the security, political and economic levels, he added.

Sadrist movement leader, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr slammed the attack, saying it targeted “Iraq, its people, security and stability.”

In a tweet, he added that the failed assassination was an attempt to “drag Iraq to chaos so that it can come under the control of non-state powers and so that it can live under the threat of violence and terrorism.”

He called on the army and security forces to seize control of the situation so that Iraq can recover and come back stronger.

President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani slammed the attempt on Kadhimi’s life.

He tweeted that this “dangerous terrorist development threatens the security and stability of the country and could have severe consequences.”

He called on all sides to show restraint and calm.



Fighting Intensifies between Pro-Türkiye Factions, SDF Near Syria’s Manbij

Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
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Fighting Intensifies between Pro-Türkiye Factions, SDF Near Syria’s Manbij

Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
Syrian opposition fighters secure the area near Manbij city, northern Syria, 04 January 2025. (EPA)

Fighting intensified on Saturday between the Türkiye-backed Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Tishrin Dam region southeast of Manbij city in the Aleppo countryside.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkish jets struck SDF positions in the area, as well as in the city of Deir Hafir southeast of Manbij.

In a statement, the SDF said the pro-Türkiye factions launched a broad attack on several villages south and east of Manbij, but its forces managed to repel them.

The factions have for days been seeking to seize areas surrounding the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River.

The SDF added that the factions, with support from Turkish drones and modern tanks, launched violent attacks on the villages of al-Atshana, Khirbet Tueni, Khirbet Zamala, al-Mastaha, Alloush and others near Manbij.

The SDF managed to repel “all attacks”, kill several members of the factions and destroy Turkish vehicles, stressed the statement.

SDF members were killed and eight others were wounded in the fighting. Fifty members of the factions were also killed, said the Observatory, which confirmed the attacks on the Manbij countryside.

The SDF has since detonated mines in the area to slow down the factions’ advance. It has also bolstered the deployment of its forces in anticipation of air strikes, added the Observatory.

The fighting has been ongoing since December when the factions seized Manbij and Tal Rifaat. Since then, neither side has managed to claim any major victory against the other or capture any territory.

Meanwhile, Turkish drones struck and damaged a power plant in the Tabaqa countryside in the western Raqqa province.

Two members of the SDF security forces were also wounded in a drone strike on the municipality building in the countryside.

Türkiye has been targeting infrastructure in the regions held by the People’s Protection Forces (YPG) - the military backbone of the SDF - in northern and eastern Syria.

Turkish artillery also targeted areas in Hasakeh. There have been no reports so far of casualties.

Elsewhere, American forces and the US-led international coalition to fight ISIS continued to send military reinforcements to areas held by the SDF.

A 20-truck American military convoy entered Syria through the Iraqi Kurdistan region and headed towards the Tal Baydar and Qasrak bases in the Hasakeh countryside on Saturday.

The Observatory said the US forces sent 13 armored vehicles, as well as fuel tankers, from these bases to Ain al-Arab, or Kobane, in the eastern Aleppo countryside to complete the construction of a military base there.