Iraq: Katyusha Targets House of Anti-Corruption Official


Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)
Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)
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Iraq: Katyusha Targets House of Anti-Corruption Official


Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)
Iraqi soldiers stand on a truck in Sinjar (AP)

The Iraqi Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency announced that a Katyusha rocket targeted the home of the Interior Ministry’s Undersecretary for Intelligence.

The agency issued a statement announcing that the house of Lt-Gen Ahmed Abu Ragheef was targeted by a Katyusha rocket in Baghdad’s Karrada area on Wednesday morning.

Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi had assigned Abu Ragheef to chair the national supreme anti-corruption committee.

The Interior Ministry said that it was a failed attempt, and the attack had only damaged the fence of the house, adding that the site of the launchpad has been determined and the perpetrators will be brought to justice.

The committee has sparked widespread controversy being the only body to arrest dozens of persons involved in corruption charges, including senior officials.

Political observers believe that Abu Ragheef became a target of the corrupt mafias targeting him and undermining his committee before the public.

A large explosion shook large parts of Baghdad on Wednesday after a locally-made Katyusha rocket fell on Abu Nawas Street on the Tigris River, opposite the Green Zone.

Security sources indicated that the missile was set to target the Green Zone but missed it and landed on an apartment building without causing any significant casualties.

On Wednesday, the Security Media Cell statement stated that the rocket was launched from east of Baghdad, near the al-Amana neighborhood.

The security forces arrested a suspect near Muzaffar Square, east of the capital.

The Green Zone, which hosts government and parliament buildings, many diplomatic missions, most notably the US embassy, and the houses of several senior Iraqi officials, has often been targeted by dozens of missiles landing in empty lots or on civilian homes.



Egyptian FM Pushes for ‘De-escalation’ Dialogue in Call with European Diplomats

Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
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Egyptian FM Pushes for ‘De-escalation’ Dialogue in Call with European Diplomats

Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Emergency personnel walk near damaged vehicles at an impact site following a missile strike from Iran on Israel, in Holon, Tel Aviv, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and British National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell on Thursday about the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.

In a statement after the call, Abdelatty said that the E3, an informal foreign and security cooperation arrangement between the UK, Germany and France, is responsible for opening “channels for dialogue and negotiation and utilize all available channels with the Iranian side to reach compromises that contribute to de-escalation.”

Abdelatty also held calls Tuesday with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister reportedly stressed “the necessity of working toward de-escalation in the region and resorting to diplomatic and political solutions that contribute to containing the escalating situation and averting the risk of a widespread conflagration in the Middle East.”

Abdelatty “underscored the imperative of achieving an immediate ceasefire and returning to the path of negotiations as the only means to reach a sustainable agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear program,” his office said in a statement.