Former US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was heckled during a live interview on CBS by a angry off-screen protester venting his ire over the Iraq war.

Powell was speaking on CBS This Morning about the Smithsonian’s new National Museum for African American History and Culture when a protester loudly interrupted the interview. Calling from off-set, the man shouted, “You know better, Colin Powell, as a black man in America...you dropped bombs on Iraq.”

This isn’t just African American history, it’s American history. -- Gen. Colin Powell #APeoplesJourneypic.twitter.com/KDErJ23CsC — CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) September 12, 2016

African Americans were always willing to serve the nation that was not yet ready to serve them. -- Gen. Colin Powell #APeoplesJourney — CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) September 12, 2016

Powell seemed unfazed by the incident and quipped to the reporters, “Is he one of yours?”

Colin Powel heckled on CBS this morning: "You know better, as a black man in America you dropped bombs on Iraq" pic.twitter.com/OnMRsdKkgy — Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) September 12, 2016

The show’s presenters appeared more shaken by the incident than Powell, with online observers noting the fearful reaction of co-anchor Gayle King in particular.

Anyone else just see Gail King nearly run for her life while interviewing Colin Powell when a protester screamed on @CBSThisMorning ? — Nathalie (@nathalie_claire) September 12, 2016

@hereandnowrobin@CBS agreed, Definitely scary. They did a great job carrying on. — Liz (@lizbuck22) September 12, 2016

Some guy decided to scream and heckle Colin Powell during live CBS broadcast. Stunning. #cbsthismorning. — Merlisa (@merlisa) September 12, 2016

Powell, who served as Secretary of State under George W. Bush during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, recently came into the spotlight again after emails revealed he advised his successor Hillary Clinton to use a private email server - an issue some viewers thought should have been prominent in his CBS appearance.

READ MORE: ‘I could talk to foreign leaders bypassing State Dept’: Powell to Clinton on private email use

@CBSThisMorning Ask Colin Powell about his emails! — Sassycatz (@Sassycatz) September 12, 2016

In the build up to the Iraq war, Powell alleged in 2003 during a speech to the UN Security Council that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction. However, after the US invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, no nuclear or chemical weapons were found.

In 2004 and 2005,Powell acknowledged that much of his 2003 UN presentation was inaccurate.

Powell has previously admitted that the Bush administration made "terrible strategic mistakes" during the Iraq War but defended the decision to invade, claiming they were unaware their intelligence was faulty.

READ MORE: Iraq war 'was illegal,' Blair's former deputy acknowledges

Iraq Body Count, a website that started recording civilian casualties following the 2003 US led invasion of Iraq has recorded 251,000 violent deaths to date including combatants.