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Late on December 22, a mysterious drone crashed near the main headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) in the district of al-Mansour in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The drone, reportedly a small quadcopter, crashed less than 1,500 meters away from the INIS headquarters as a result of a technical failure, according to the available information. Local sources said that the drone took off from the district of Harthiya, to the southeast of al-Mansour.
RT’s reporter in Baghdad said that the drone crashed while it was counducting a reconnaissance mission. The target of the mission was likely the INIS headquarters.
As for now, it’s still unclear who launched the drone and why. Pro-Iranian forces may be behind the drone, but so does the Israeli intelligence who used similar small drones in covert operations in Iran and Lebanon in the past. It’s also plausible that the drone was launched by ISIS cells as the INIS is mainly active against the terrorist group.
The situation in Baghdad remains unstable. Around a week ago, a rocket attack targeted the US Embassy in the highly-fortified Green Zone.