SULAIMANI (ESTA) — several rockets on Thursday targeted Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone where the parliament is situated resulting in a number of injuries, as the legislative chamber is in a meeting to elect the country’s next president.
Nine Katyusha rockets fell on the Green Zone and its surroundings “resulting in the injury of a number of members of the security forces and citizens,” Iraq’s Security Media Cell said.
The attacks come as the MPs are in the Iraqi parliament to elect the country’s next president after over a year of political deadlock.
The US Embassy in Baghdad condemned “in the strongest terms” the rocket attacks that landed in the Green Zone.
“The people of Iraq must resolve their political differences and grievances solely thru peaceful means. Attacks like these undermine democracy and trap Iraq in a perpetual cycle of violence,” Ambassador Alina Romanowski said.
The primary forerunners for the post are the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) candidate incumbent Barham Salih and, Latif Rashid.
Rashid was a former water resources minister supported the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) – after their candidate Rebar Ahmad announced his resignation from the race on Thursday.
Under the power-sharing system established in the Iraqi constitution to prevent sectarian conflict, Iraq’s Prime Minister is Shiite and the President is Kurd, meanwhile, its speaker of parliament is Sunni.
