9 rockets landed in the vicinity of the Green Zone area in Baghdad

Al Mayadeen correspondent reported Thursday that several explosions were heard in the Green Zone area, home to government buildings and foreign missions, in central Baghdad, in parallel with a parliament session that was about to start to elect a new president for the country.

An Iraqi military statement confirmed that nine Katyusha rockets targeted the vicinity of the area, adding that several members of the security forces were injured as a result of the attack.

#Iraq #BREAKING: At least three rockets landed outside the Green Zone, hitting a mosque and the Central Railway Station. pic.twitter.com/r3wThqpQnJ
— Sinan S. Mahmoud (@sinansm) October 13, 2022

A Reuters witness and parliament sources said they saw at least three rockets landing in the Green Zone, while no side claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

The Green Zone area witnessed last month similar attacks as the Iraqi parliament was holding a vote to elect its speaker.

It is noteworthy that the Iraqi parliament is holding a session to elect a new president for the country, which paves the way for forming a new government that might pull Iraq from a deep one-year political turmoil that witnessed violence and tension.

On Tuesday, sources told Al Mayadeen that the Iraqi political forces agreed to nominate the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate, Abdul Latif Rashid, for the presidency, following negotiations between the State Administration Alliance, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the PUK.

On its part, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced the withdrawal of its candidate Rebar Ahmed from the Iraqi presidential race, in a step aimed to ensure the success of the "process of electing the president of the republic and forming the new Iraqi federal government."

The KDP bloc confirmed that it would vote for PUK's candidate Abdul Latif Rashid in Thursday's parliamentary session to elect a new president for the republic.