Drone strike near Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad kills officer

One police officer killed in strike by ‘outlaw groups’ on headquarters of Iraqi National Intelligence Service.

One police officer has been killed in a drone strike by “outlaw groups” on the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the heart of capital Baghdad.

“A drone targeted the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the Mansour district” at about 10am local time (07:00 GMT), General Saad Maan, head of the Iraqi government’s security media unit, said in a brief statement on Saturday.

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A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that the drone targeted a “communications building”, adding that the building houses an Iraqi security agency that works with United States’ advisers in Iraq on security matters.

Another drone, filming the operation, crashed into a private members ‘ sports club popular with the Iraqi elite and foreign diplomats, according to the same source.

The drone attack on the headquarters of the National Intelligence Service came hours after another attack on the US military complex.

Overnight from Friday to Saturday, at least three drone attacks targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub that houses US military personnel at Baghdad International Airport, according to two security officials.

One of the officials said a fire broke out near the base following the third attack.

Iraq has been unwillingly drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israel attack on neighbouring Iran on February 28, with its territory being struck frequently since then.

The US-Israeli strikes have targeted Iran-backed groups, which in turn have claimed near-daily attacks on US interests, mostly in Iraq but also across the wider region.

A fighter from the Hashed al-Shaabi former paramilitary coalition was killed late on Friday in an attack on a military airfield in northern Iraq. The group blamed the attack on the US and Israel.

On Thursday, the Pentagon acknowledged for the first time that combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the latest conflict.