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The US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone was the target of a rocket attack on Sunday, according to reports.
Iraqi security officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the embassy’s C-RAM defense system shot down the rockets in midair, causing minor damage to a residential complex and parked cars. There were no reports of casualties.
“The US Embassy confirms that the rockets directed at the International Zone (Green Zone) resulted in the involvement of the embassy’s defensive systems,” said a statement issued by the embassy.
“We call on all Iraqi political and government leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and hold those responsible accountable,” the statement said.
Explosions heard in Baghdad
Joyce Karam, correspondent for The National based in the United Arab Emirates, he shared a video on Twitter of the intercepted rockets and wrote that the embassy had been “hit with a Katyusha rocket barrage and mortar shells.”
Reporters for Agence France-Presse in Baghdad heard at least five loud explosions followed by whistles.
“Everybody is screaming and crying. My wife is getting lost by all the terrifying sounds,” a local Iraqi man, whose home was hit, told AFP.
Soleimani’s murder persists
The attack took place two weeks before the first anniversary of the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, which was led by Washington.
The United States withdrew some staff from its embassy in Baghdad in early December pending retaliation.
“We are prepared to defend ourselves, our friends and partners in the region, and we are prepared to react if necessary,” said Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, chief of US forces in the Middle East, speaking to reporters after the attack.
Sunday’s attack was the third apparent violation of a truce agreed in October by Western and Iraqi authorities with hard-line and pro-Iran groups.
Several groups have unexpectedly condemned Sunday’s attack, including populist cleric and former militant leader Moqtada al-Sadr. The Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah, which in turn has been accused of carrying out previous attacks, said that “bombing the (US) embassy of evil at this time is considered out of place.”
The Trump administration has accused Iran of being behind a recent series of attacks on American interests in the country and has warned Baghdad that it will close its embassy unless Iraq can control the attacks.
In November, President Donald Trump announced a reduction in US troops in Iraq for January, before leaving office.
ab / dj (AP, Reuters, AFP)
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