Iraqi National Intelligence Service barricades itself in after the attack on Al Kazimi

The Iraqi National Intelligence Service , which has been in the sights of certain pro-Iranian Shiite militias for several months, moved quickly to strengthen security around its headquarters in the Al Mansour green zone, just a few hours after three drones targeted the home of prime minister Mustafa Al Kazimi, its former head. A week earlier, moreover, on 31 October, four rockets had already been fired close to its headquarters, where Al Kazimi went for a meeting the same day.

More internal changes to come

Apart from raising its alert level, INIS deployed a number of armoured vehicles around its premises to protect it against potential new attacks. The prime minister, who is aware of the threats faced by his intelligence service, referred during the emergency cabinet meeting called after the attack on his home to the need to speed up the investigation into the assassination of INIS officer Nibras Farman. He was killed in June as he investigated the murder in July 2020 of specialist militia researcher Hisham al Hashemi, who is a close adviser to the prime minister.

The increasing number of such killings and rocket attacks – INIS’s headquarter had already come under fire on 29 July – are encouraging Al Kazimi to make new, yet to be announced, changes in the service, which had already been substantially restructured following the double attack on Baghdad in January 2020.

Asaïb Ahl Al Haq still on the warpath

The 7 November and 31 October attacks have not yet been claimed but Shiite militia Asaïb Ahl Al Haq  is suspected of having been behind them, particularly after threats against Iraq’s spymasters circulated on social networks linked to the movement. The rockets fired on the Al Mansour district came from Shula, north of Bagdad, where the AAH’s leaders are based. The movement, which is part of the Hachd Al Shaabi (“Popular Mobilisation Forces”) – which was the main loser in the early elections which took place on 10 October – manifested its disagreement with the election results with a show of arms. Even a visit from Ismail Qaani, head of the Pasdaran’s Al Quds Force, who brought Al Kazimi a peace message in the evening of 7 November, was not enough to calm the spirits of AAH leader Qaïs Khazali, who was reluctant to comply with the calls for calm issued by his Iranian backer