Rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone as lawmakers gather to select Iraq's president
As lawmakers were preparing to select the country's president, several rockets hit the area around the parliament building.
As Iraq's parliament was set to hold a special session today to select the country's president, several rockets hit the area around the parliament building inside Baghdad's Green Zone.
The session had been scheduled for 11 a.m. local time, yet was delayed after only 170 members out of 329 showed up. Under Iraq's constitution, the quorum for selecting a president is 220.
No group has claimed responsibility for the rockets yet. The Sadrists, oppose the formation of a new government after they withdrew from parliament, condemned the attack.
In legislative elections held a year ago Sadrists won the largest bloc, gaining 73 seats. Yet the group's leader, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, ordered lawmakers within in bloc to collectively hand in their resignations in June of this year after repeated attempts at forming a government had failed. This opened the door for the pro-Iran Coordination Framework to make efforts to form a government.
