Joe Biden reacts after Iraqi Prime Minister survives assasination attempt

US President, Joe Biden has condemned the attack that targeted Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi and said his administration would help Iraqi security forces identify those responsibly.

Kadhemi escaped unhurt when an explosives-packed drone struck his Baghdad residence in the heavily guarded Green Zone area of Baghdad early Sunday, November 7. The attack marked a substantial escalation in the country’s post-election turmoil.

The prime minister’s office described the attack as a “failed assassination attempt,” while Iraqi President Barham Salih called the strike, which was not immediately claimed by any group, an attempted “coup against the constitutional system.”

On Sunday night, November 7, Biden condemned the attack.

“I strongly condemn the terrorist attack targeting the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Kadhemi,”

“I am relieved the Prime Minister was not injured and commend the leadership he has shown in calling for calm, restraint, and dialogue to protect the institutions of the state and strengthen the democracy Iraqis so richly deserve.”

Biden said that “the perpetrators of this terrorist attack on the Iraqi state must be held accountable,” as he condemned “in the strongest terms those using violence to undermine Iraq’s democratic process.”

Biden added that he instructed his national security team “to offer all appropriate assistance to Iraq’s security forces as they investigate this attack and identify those responsible.”