The source also said that when al-Sadr made a decision to withdraw his bloc’s MPs from the parliament members’ protests, he left the parliament confused between the legitimacy of its ousted President Salim al-Jabouri and the legitimacy of the protesters, who chose Adnan al-Janabi to be their temporary President being the oldest among them.
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Hundreds of protestors have left the Green Zone in Iraq’s capital Baghdad, after spending around 24 hours camped out in the heavily fortified area.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks during a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq in this still image from video April 15, 2016.
The Pentagon has no plans to heighten security or move USA troops in Baghdad after protesters loyal to Shiite Muslim leader Muqtada al-Sadr breached the Green Zone over the weekend to demand political reform, Capt. Jeff Davis said Monday.
Islamic State said it had attacked a gathering of special forces in Samawa, 230km south of the capital, with one vehicle bomb and then blew up the second when security forces responded to the site.
That plus the breach of the Green Zone has put a major strain on Baghdad’s security services.
For the second day in a row, thousands of supporters had held a sit-in inside the Green Zone after storming parliament a day earlier.
Washington Post reporter Liz Sly, who witnessed Saturday’s confrontations, described Sadr’s outward goals as part of a push to stop graft and bring good government to the divided country, widely seen as rife with political corruption.
The political strife has prompted concern from the USA, which sees the stability of the government in Baghdad as critical to the fight against Islamic State.
He also urged al-Abadi to be more decisive regarding calls for a proposed cabinet reshuffle and to foster partnerships with a view to fighting terrorism and government corruption.
Earlier in the day, the ultra-hardline Sunni militants claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack against Shi’ite pilgrims in the southeastern Baghdad suburb of Nahrawan, killing 19 people and wounding 48 others.
The Green Zone, surrounded by thick blast walls topped with razor wire, is off-limits to most Iraqis because of security procedures that require multiple checks and specific documentation to enter.
Protesters attacked at least one MP as well as cars they believed belonged to lawmakers on Saturday, and broke into offices in parliament. The IS statement described the attack as a three-ton truck bombing.
Supporters of al-Sadr have been holding demonstrations and sit-ins for months to demand an overhaul of the political system put in place by the US following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said there was no “specific danger posed” to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Al-Sadr has called for a reformation of the Iraqi government, while his forces have engaged in protests for several days.
Abadi “directed the interior minister to pursue the elements who attacked the security forces and citizens and members of parliament and vandalised state properties and to refer them to the judiciary to receive their just punishment”, a statement said.
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“Under the Vienna Convention, all diplomatic missions are protected by the host country’s security forces”, the official said.
