ISLAMABAD, Dec 21 (Reuters) – At least three rockets were fired at the US embassy in the green zone of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday, but no casualties were reported. ۔
Iraqi security officials told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that C was stationed at the US embassy.
The RAM defense system destroyed the rockets in mid-air. However, it damaged a residential complex and cars parked there. No casualties were reported.
A statement from the US Embassy said, “The US Embassy confirms the rocket attack in the International Zone (Green Zone), which forced the embassy’s anti-missile defense system to be activated.
The statement added that there was minor damage in the attack.
“We urge all Iraqi political and government leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and to take action against the perpetrators,” the statement said.
Explosions in different parts of Baghdad
Joyce Karam, a correspondent for The National, shared a video on Twitter showing rockets being fired into the air.
He wrote on Twitter that the embassy was “hit by Katyusha rockets and mortars.”
An AFP correspondent in Baghdad said he heard at least five explosions followed by rocket fire.
“Everyone was screaming and crying,” a local Iraqi man whose house was damaged in the attack told AFP.
My wife fainted because of these horrible noises. “
The assassination of General Soleimani
The attacks come as the first anniversary of the assassination of Iran’s top military official, General Qasim Soleimani, approaches. He was assassinated on American orders.
The United States withdrew some staff from its embassy in Baghdad in early December for fear of retaliation.
Sunday’s attack is the third since a ceasefire agreement was reached in October between Western and Iraqi authorities and hardline and pro-Iranian groups.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The United States has in the past blamed such rocket attacks on Iranian-backed militias, but Iran has not yet commented directly on the US allegations.
On the other hand, several groups have unexpectedly condemned the attack, including prominent religious leader and former militant leader Muqtada al-Sadr. The Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah, which has been accused of such attacks in the past, also said:
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The Trump administration has blamed Iran for recent attacks on US interests in Iraq and warned Baghdad that the United States would close its embassy in Iraq if it failed to contain the attacks. Will
President Donald Trump said in November that he would reduce the number of US troops in Iraq before stepping down in January.
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