Iraqi prime minister survives mortar attack in Kirkuk

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi narrowly missed being killed by mortar fire yesterday when shells hit an area that he had left just minutes earlier, the Anadolu Agency reported. A military source pointed out that the incident happened in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province.

“Al-Abadi had visited a military site in the Maktab Khalid area in the south-west of Kirkuk city,” said Captain Ahmed Zeidan. “Minutes after his departure, the site was hit by three mortar shells.”

According to Zeidan, the mortar fire originated in areas held by Daesh terrorists. There were no casualties, he confirmed.

Al-Abadi was accompanied by army officers when he arrived in Kirkuk on Thursday to inspect positions held by the Kurds’ Peshmerga forces. Speaking to the Kurdish officers, Al-Abadi said that his visit was in advance of planned operations to retake Kirkuk’s Hawija district and the rest of the province from Daesh, areas which the extremist group has held since 2014.