Baghdad bomb ‘hit Aussie car in error’

A roadside bomb that injured two Australian diplomatic contractors in Baghdad likely hit the wrong car.

An armed Shiite militia member in Baghdad on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

A roadside bomb that injured two Australian diplomatic contractors in Baghdad likely hit the wrong car.

The Australian understands investigators believe the Australian armoured car was probably not the intended target of those who planted the improvised explosive device on an airport road colloquially known as Route Irish.

Two security contractors received minor injuries when the IED detonated as they drove in a four-car diplomatic convoy, close to the Green Zone, at 6.30am Baghdad time on Friday, August 26. The pair, foreign nationals who are neither Australian nor Iraqi citizens, were taken to hospital for a check-up after the device caused minor damage to their armoured vehicle and roadside barriers.

The incident comes at a time of political tension in Baghdad, with supporters of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr storming the heavily fortified Green Zone last week in a riot that left up to 30 people dead and 200 wounded.

Sources in Baghdad said there was no particular controversy involving the Australians and the IED was likely meant to have targeted a US or NATO convoy.

The attack happened close to the headquarters of the PMU – the Popular Mobilisation Units, or Hashed al-Sha’abi.

A paramilitary force established in 2014 to help the fight against Islamic State, the PMU umbrella covers several mainly Shia militia groups and is wracked by internal fighting.

Australian ambassador to Iraq Paula Ganly is understood to have visited caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi last Saturday at his compound in the Green Zone to discuss the attack.

It’s thought the prime minister offered his condolences, and promised to share the results of the investigation being conducted by Iraq’s Joint Operations Command.

Route Irish is the name given to the 12km stretch of road between Baghdad’s international airport and the Green Zone, or international zone, where embassies and government buildings are housed, and was once considered the most dangerous stretch of road in the world.

Baghdad has been relatively peaceful in recent years, with last Monday’s violence, which erupted after Sadr gave a speech announcing he was leaving politics, the worst in years.

Riots continued on Thursday night in the southern city of Basra, with reports of bloodshed and lives lost when Sadr’s militias clashed with other Shia militias backed by Iran.

The country has a caretaker government after Sadr’s bloc resigned en masse earlier this year.

The grouping had won the most seats in the disputed Oct­ober 2021 election but failed to form outright majority government. Sadr has called for the dissolution of the parliament.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that an Australian embassy vehicle was struck by a roadside IED at a checkpoint about 2km from the Green Zone.

“One armoured vehicle sustained damage and returned safely to the Australian embassy.

“Three other vehicles in the ­motorcade were not damaged,’’ the department said in a statement. “Two members of the embassy’s security team were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

“No Australian diplomats were involved in the incident.’’