In the latest development of a recent assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Sunday, Iraqi security officials claimed Monday that Iranian-backed militias were behind the attack.
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As widespread condemnation from within and outside of the country surfaced, one group has remained particularly silent on the incident, i24NEWS reported.
In an emergency security meeting held after the failed attack, Al-Kadhimi vowed to find the perpetrators and prevent foreign intervention in the country.
"There are those who are trying to tamper with the security of Iraq… with Iraq's future. They want a country of gangs… and of loose security," Al-Kadhimi said during the meeting.
"They" most likely refers to Iran via Iranian-backed Shiite paramilitary groups that are part of an organization known as The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
The mostly Shiite-Muslim groups have been protesting rigorously in recent weeks following a poor election result in early October, with protesters claiming election fraud.
However, Iran was quick to condemn the attempted killing, and the Iraqi Foreign Ministry stressed Iran's firm and consistent support of "Iraq's stability, peace, and security" via Twitter.
Inside Iraq, the Iran-backed PMF continued on Monday to ignore the assassination attempt and has issued no statements.
However, the rival Shiite faction of militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who opposes Iranian interference in Iraq, condemned the incident.
"The terrorist act that targeted the highest level of the country is a clear and explicit targeting of Iraq and its people, targeting its security and stability and returning it to chaos," al-Sadr tweeted.
Not only was the assassination attempt thwarted, it could potentially backfire and wind up granting greater legitimacy to Al-Kadhimi in Iraq and throughout the Arab world.
This article was first published by i24NEWS
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