BAGHDAD, Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi escaped an assassination attempt on Sunday after an explosive-laden drone targeted his residence in Baghdad, the country's military said.
Al-Kadhimi went on to Twitter moments after the attack and called for "calm and restraint from everyone."
"Thank God, I am fine and among my people," he tweeted on his official account.
He called the missile and drone attacks cowardly, saying that they work against a better future for the country. Al-Kadhimi called for calm and constructive dialogue "for the sake of Iraq and the future of Iraq."
"I was and still am a redemption project for Iraq and the people of Iraq. The missiles of treachery will not discourage the believers and will shake a hair of the stability and determination of our heroic security forces to preserve people's security, achieve justice and set the law in place," he said.
Three drones were involved in the assassination attempt, according to Ministry of Interior Spokesman General Saad Maan, speaking to the state-run Al-Iraqiya news network. Security forces were able to down two of the drones, Maan said.
The Iraqi military said that Al-Kadhimi was unharmed and in good health, and that security forces were "taking the necessary measures in connection with this failed attempt."
A source close to the Iraqi leader said Sunday that Al-Kadhimi was returning from overseeing security forces engaged in a stand-off with protesters at the southern gate of the Green Zone, the heavily fortified area of Baghdad where the the Prime Minister's residence and other government and diplomatic buildings are located, around the time of the drone attack.
As he was just entering his residence, a booby-trapped drone targeted that location, wounding a few of his residence guards and causing minor damage, the source said.
The US State Department condemned the "apparent act of terrorism" in a statement on Sunday. "We are in close touch with the Iraqi security forces charged with upholding Iraq's sovereignty and independence and have offered our assistance as they investigate this attack," spokesperson Ned Price said.
The President of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), the semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq, also released a statement condemning the failed assassination attempt, calling it a "terrorist act" that marks a "dangerous development that threatens security and stability in the country and portends dire consequences."
"I invite everyone to exercise restraint and calm down," KRG President Nechirvan Barani in a statement early Sunday.
The influential Shia Muslim cleric and head of the powerful Sadrist Movement Moqtada al-Sadr called the incident a "terrorist act" that "returns [Iraq] to a state of chaos to be controlled by non-governmental forces, so that Iraq lives under the pain of riots, violence and terrorism, so that dangers and interventions from outside swept it from here and there."
As a result of the attempt, he said, "our valiant army and the heroic security forces must take matters into their own hands until Iraq recovers and returns strong."
Al-Sadr and his coalition won more than 70 seats in Iraq's parliamentary elections held two weeks ago, gaining significant numbers since the last elections in 2018, when they won 54 seats.
No one has claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt, but it comes amid heightened tensions in the capital.
On Friday, one person was killed and dozens were wounded after supporters of Iran-backed militias clashed with Iraqi security forces near the Green Zone, health officials told CNN.
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