Hundreds of attackers stormed the Baghdad office of MBC, a Saudi-owned television network, late Friday night, causing significant damage to the building, according to a security source cited by Agence France-Presse.
Between 400 to 500 individuals armed with sticks and incendiary devices broke into the office, smashing equipment and setting part of the building on fire.
The attack followed the broadcast of a report on MBC that featured figures aligned with the “Axis of Resistance,” a group allied with Iran.
It is believed that the attackers were loyal to Iraqi armed factions, as groups affiliated with these factions had circulated threats against the network prior to the incident.
Civil defense teams managed to extinguish the fire, and security forces dispersed the attackers. However, there have been no immediate reports of arrests.
According to an interior ministry official, security forces have now been deployed around the MBC office, which suffered an estimated 60-65% damage.
Videos shared by Sabreen News, a channel linked to Iran-aligned Iraqi factions, showed attackers waving flags of Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iraqi militias aligned with Iran and integrated into the country’s official security forces.
This attack comes at a time of heightened regional instability, driven by the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as Israeli military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The conflict has stirred emotions across the Middle East, with various groups expressing solidarity with Hamas and Hezbollah.
In Iraq, social media platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp were used to spread clips of the MBC report that sparked the controversy. The footage quickly drew the ire of pro-Iranian factions in the country.
As the regional conflict intensifies, the Iraqi government is trying to shield the country from being drawn into the war.
However, Iranian-backed militias within Iraq have repeatedly called for readiness to join the broader conflict.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of these militias, has claimed responsibility for multiple drone attacks on Israeli targets in recent months in solidarity with Gaza, and they have urged for an increase in such attacks in the wake of the ongoing violence.
