Iraqi prime minister survives assassination bid with drones
Baghdad (AP): Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted his residence early Sunday and officials said he was unharmed.
The attack was a major escalation amid tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept last month's parliamentary election results.
Two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press that seven of al-Kadhimi's security guards were injured in the attack with two armed drones which occurred in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone area.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give official statements.
"I am fine and among my people. Thank God," the prime minister tweeted shortly after the attack. He called for calm and restraint, for the sake of Iraq.
He later appeared on Iraqi television, seated behind a desk in a white shirt, looking calm and composed. Cowardly rocket and drone attacks don't build homelands and don't build a future, he said.
In a statement, the government said an explosives-laden drone tried to hit al-Kadhimi's home.
Residents of Baghdad heard the sound of an explosion followed by heavy gunfire from the direction of the Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and government offices.
The statement released by state-run media said security forces were taking the necessary measures in connection with this failed attempt.
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Two held for 'firing' at BJP leader's house in Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): A day before the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections, two persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly being involved in a firing incident outside the residence of a BJP leader in North 24 Parganas district, police said.
BJP leader Kundan Singh lodged a police complaint, alleging that a few gunmen fired at his house in the Noapara constituency around Saturday midnight.
Based on the CCTV footage, the two accused were apprehended, a senior officer said.
BJP's Noapara candidate Arjun Singh, in a post on social media, claimed that around 12.05 am, two armed miscreants arrived on a motorcycle at the residence of Kundan Singh, a BJP functionary and secretary of the Barrackpore organisational district, with an "intent to kill him".
According to the BJP leader, the accused are residents of Garulia and are known criminals.
Their names as offenders had been submitted to the Election Commission, he said.
The police officer did not specify whether the two arrested persons were the same individuals named by Arjun Singh.
According to the complaint, one round of firing took place outside Kundan Singh's house, triggering panic in the area.
The BJP candidate also questioned the role of the police, claiming that one of the accused had been detained by the police on the polling day but was later released in the evening.
The Noapara assembly seat went to the polls on April 29.
Several BJP leaders alleged that attempts were being made to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the counting and weaken the organisation of the opposition parties.
The counting of votes will take place on May 4. Polling for the West Bengal assembly elections was held on April 23 and April 29.
The BJP urged the Election Commission to intervene immediately to ensure peaceful counting.
TMC candidate Somnath Shyam rubbished Arjun Singh’s allegation, claiming that the BJP nominee had orchestrated the firing incident to divert attention from imminent defeat.
“Arjun Singh knows all the gangsters in the Barrackpore belt. Everyone knows about his links with the underworld. Let the police investigate the incident,” Shyam said.
