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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday that the burning of a storage site in Baghdad where ballot boxes were kept was part of a plot to harm Iraq’s democratic process, the first government indication the incident was deliberate.

“Burning election warehouses ... is a plot to harm the nation and its democracy. We will take all necessary measures and strike with an iron fist all who undermine the security of the nation and its citizens,” Abadi said in a statement.