Iraq: Rockets hit fortified Green Zone ahead of parliament session

The Iraqi military reported that rockets hit the capital Baghdad in the fortified Green Zone. The incident comes ahead of a parliament session where lawmakers are set to elect a new president.

Nine rockets hit the Green Zone – where government buildings and foreign missions are located, in Baghdad Thursday, according to the statement issued by the Iraqi military. The incident comes as parliament is about to start a session to elect a new president.

The attack wounded several civilians and members of the Iraqi security forces, according to Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdulwahed.

The attacks follow the pro-Iran faction, the Coordination Framework, which submitted a formal letter claiming that they make up the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament. The Framework nominated Mohammad Shia al-Sudani for prime minister – a legal step needed to be taken before the new government could be formed.

A series of rockets hit the Green Zone last week when parliament was set to vote on who would become the deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament. The rocket attacks follow months of political deadlock in Iraq, when al-Sadr and his faction of lawmakers won the October 2021 elections but did not get enough support to form a new government.

There were fears that al-Sadr’s supporters would storm the parliament again ahead of the latest session. al-Sadr’s supporters previously stormed the Iraqi parliament back on June 30 in an attempt to stall the government formation process when al-Sudani was first nominated by the pro-Iran faction.

After convening later in the afternoon, lawmakers elected Kurdish lawmaker Abdul Latif Rashid as the new Iraqi president, clearing the way for the formation of the new government. Rashid would be succeeding fellow Kurdish lawmaker Barham Saleh after two rounds of voting. Rashid received over 160 votes compared to Saleh’s 99, according to an assembly official.

al-Sudani was later named the Iraqi prime minister-designate by Rashid, taking on the task of uniting Shia factions that are at odds with each other to form a new government. al-Sudani will be succeeding caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price congratulated Rashid’s election victory in a statement.

“The United States welcomes the Iraqi Council of Representatives' election of Abdul Latif Rashid as the President of Iraq,” said the statement.

“As Iraq’s political leaders form a new government, we encourage them to bear in mind the will of the Iraqi people, who voted for a government responsive to their needs,” said the statement.