ISTANBUL/BAGHDAD

Iraq’s National Intelligence Service announced Saturday that one of its officers was killed in what it described as a “terrorist attack” targeting the vicinity of its headquarters in Baghdad.

In a statement on the US social media company X, the intelligence agency stated: “At 10:00 am (0700GMT) today, Saturday, the perimeter of the National Intelligence Service site in Baghdad was targeted by a terrorist attack carried out by outlaw groups, resulting in the martyrdom of an officer.”

The agency described the incident as “a desperate attempt aimed at deterring the service from carrying out its professional duties.”

It stressed that it would continue to perform its national responsibilities, adding that “such terrorist practices will only increase its determination and resolve to pursue the perpetrators and those responsible until they are arrested and brought to justice.”

Meanwhile, factions affiliated with the "Iraqi resistance" claimed the attack took place after "the escape of a number of US intelligence personnel" as a result of ongoing shelling of the US embassy and Victoria Base, a claim that has yet to be confirmed by official sources.

Earlier, Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, said in a brief statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that “at 10:15 am today (0715GMT), a drone fell on the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in Al-Mansour area (western Baghdad).”

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, with Tehran retaliating with repeated drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.