Former Iraqi PM Abadi: government permitted plane that killed Iranian general to enter airspace

Adel Abdul Mahdi, who succeeded Abadi, has denied the allegations as a fresh inquiry is launched

Haidar Al Abadi, former prime minister of Iraq, speaks at the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 25, 2018. World Economic Forum

Former Iraqi PM Haidar Al Abadi has sparked a political row in Iraq after claiming that his successor Adel Abdul Mahdi had given permission for the US aircraft that were about to kill Iranian General Qassem Suleimani to enter Iraqi airspace.

Mr Al Abadi said "the plane that targeted the leaders [Suleimani and Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis] near Baghdad Airport had Iraqi permission". The statement alludes to responsibility of the government, without directly saying Iraqi officials knew what the mission of the plane was.

He made the remarks as an Iraqi Air Force document was released to the media, confirming that US aircraft, including drones, had been permitted to fly over Iraqi airspace on January 3, the day the targeting killing occurred.

The authorisation, signed by Iraqi air defence commander Jabbar Obeid Kazem hours after the air strike took place, said that “three drones had entered Baghdad airspace hours before the operation and flew towards the airport ”.

Mr Abdul Mahdi's media office denied the accusation in a lengthy Facebook post on Friday, saying "hours before the assassination" the US had sought removal of some flight restrictions place on coalition forces and entry into restricted airspace.

"None of the Iraqi authorities granted such permission," it wrote, urging anyone with contrary information to come forward.

"Anyone who possesses real information about the incident must submit it to the judiciary active in this matter, and it is wrong to accuse parties who have no immediate relationship to the matter... According to the daily orders and official records, there is nothing consistent with what was rumoured."

The killing of Suleimani, who was the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) almost led to war between Iran and the US.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Suleimani as a “living martyr” and Iran pledged to react by targeting US forces. Within a week, Iran had launched a barrage of ballistic missiles into Iraq, targeting joint US-Iraqi bases and injuring 100 American soldiers, who were sheltering in bunkers but suffered concussive injuries.

Since then, US and British forces stationed in Iraq have come under repeated attack from Iran-leaning Iraqi militias.

Alongside Suleimani, the January 3 drone strike also killed Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, the de facto commander of Iraqi militia umbrella organisation the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF). Muhandis, a close associate of Suleimani, was a well-known loyalist of the Iranian regime, leading the Iran-funded militia group Kataib Hezbollah, itself a part of the PMF.

A destroyed vehicle on fire following the US strike on January 3, 2020 on Baghdad international airport road in which top Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani was killed along with eight others, including the deputy head of Iraq's Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitary force. AFP photo

The latter killing also provoked a political storm in Iraq: Iran-leaning groups viewed Muhandis as being vital to the war on ISIS.

His detractors claim he was responsible for killing hundreds of Shiite anti-government protesters in October 2019; prior to that, Muhandis’ group were accused of killing hundreds of Sunni civilians in the war on ISIS. Kataib Hezbollah's numerous fatal attacks on US forces between 2008 and 2011, and again in December 2019, were also likely a factor in the US decision to launch the January 3 air strike.

Dangerous allegations

Because the attack occurred near Baghdad's airport after Suleimani's convoy had departed on the airport road, pro-Iranian groups in Iraq demanded an immediate investigation, claiming that Iraqi agents of the US had facilitated the killing.

In July, Kataib Hezbollah threatened current Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, who is close to former Mr Al Abadi, accusing him of being directed by “his American masters”, due to his US-leaning policies, pledges to rein in militia power and his previous role as director of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service.

The latter organisation worked with US intelligence agencies when Mr Al Abadi was in power, at the height of the war against ISIS.

The allegation that Mr Abdul Mahdi may have known about the attacks in advance has caused a small political shockwave in Baghdad. Mr Abdul Mahdi was formerly a member of the Iran-leaning Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and although he later left the group, critics say he never relinquished loyalty to Tehran. This perception only hardened when the former PM refused to investigate pro-Iran militia groups for gunning down protesters.

Members of the Hashed Al Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) paramilitary group take part in a military parade in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. AFP

The accusations made by Mr Al Abadi point to a widening rift among the elites in Baghdad.

MP Moeen Al Kadhimi of the Iran-leaning Badr Organisation has claimed that Mr Abdul Mahdi only allowed Coalition aircraft to overfly Baghdad on January 3, not permitting them to conduct an airstrike.

But Mr Abdul Mahdi had previously demanded that all Coalition missions, including flights by drones,  must be authorised by the Prime Minister’s Office, issuing instructions to the same effect in August 2019.

This suggests Mr Abdul Mahdi would have been aware that US aircraft were airborne and potentially, posed a threat to Suleimani and Muhandes.

A week prior to Suleimani’s killing, US aircraft launched a series of air strikes on Kataib Hezbollah, killing dozens of the group’s members after an American contractor was killed in a Kataib Hezbollah rocket attack on December 27, 2019.

Damaged military vehicles in the aftermath of US air strikes at a militarised zone in the Jurf Al Sakhr area in Iraq's Babylon province controlled by Kataib Hezbollah. AFP

US air strikes targeting pro-Iranian military factions in Iraq killed one civilian and five security personnel early on March 13, the Iraqi military said. AFP

The Pentagon said the strikes were in retaliation for rocket fire against an Iraqi base the night of March 12 that killed one British and two US military personnel in the deadliest such attack in years. AFP

An impact crater in the aftermath of US military air strikes at a militarized zone in the Jurf Al Sakhr area in Iraq's Babylon province. AFP

A member of the Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitaries injured in an area targeted by US military air strikes, receives treatment while lying on a bed at Hilla General Teaching Hospital in Iraq's central city of Hilla on March 13, 2020. AFP

An ambulance that transported members of the Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitaries, injured in an area targeted by US military air strikes, arrives at Hilla General Teaching Hospital. AFP

This annotated image provided by the US Department of Defense showing aerial images of sites targeted in airstrikes on Friday, March 13, 2020. US Department of Defense via AP

This annotated image provided by the US Department of Defense showing aerial images of sites targeted in airstrikes on Friday, March 13, 2020. US Department of Defense via AP

Iraqi army soldiers inspect the destruction at an airport complex under construction in Karbala. AP

Marine Corps Gen Kenneth F McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, talks to journalists about the military response to rocket attacks that killed two US and one UK service members in Iraq. Getty Images via AFP

Marine Corps Gen Kenneth F McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, talks to journalists about the military response to rocket attacks that killed two US and one UK service members in Iraq. Getty Images via AFP

Critics said that Mr Abdul Mahdi made the decision to restrict Coalition air strikes under Iranian pressure, since Iran-backed groups including Kataib Hezbollah were moving men and equipment across the Syrian border.

In response to Mr Al Abadi’s allegations, the Badr Organisation and its Fatah parliamentary bloc have called for an immediate investigation.

This could worsen an increasingly acrimonious row between Mr Al Abadi and Mr Al Kadhimi on one side, and Iran-leaning Shiite elites on the other, including Badr Organisation head Hadi Al Amiri and former PM Nouri Al Maliki.

This article was updated to reflect the tone of Mr Al Abadi's comments and add Mr Abdel Mahdi's response.