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An unmanned aerial vehicle targeted the headquarters of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service in Baghdad on Saturday, killing an officer, officials said.
The intelligence service said “an officer was martyred” in what it described as a “terrorist attack carried out by rogue elements,” adding that another officer was wounded, according to a security official and an emergency services source.
Gen. Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, said the strike hit the intelligence building in the Mansour district at around 10:15 a.m. local time (0715 GMT).
“A drone crashed at the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the Mansour district,” Maan said, adding that further details would be announced later.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
An Iraqi security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted a telecommunications building linked to the intelligence service, which cooperates with U.S. advisors as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.
The same source said another drone filming the operation crashed into a private members' sports club popular with Iraqi elites and foreign diplomats.
The Moroccan Embassy is located near the intelligence headquarters that was targeted.
The incident comes as Iraq has been drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28.
Strikes have targeted Iran-backed groups, which have in turn claimed near-daily attacks on U.S. interests, mostly in Iraq and across the region.
A fighter from the Hashed al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary coalition, was killed late Friday in a strike on a military airfield in northern Iraq, with the group blaming the attack on the U.S. and Israel.
The Pentagon said Thursday that U.S. combat helicopters carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the conflict.
Overnight from Friday to Saturday, at least three drone attacks targeted a U.S. diplomatic and logistics hub at Baghdad International Airport that houses U.S. military personnel, according to two security officials.
One official said a fire broke out near the base following the third attack.
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