[ad_1]
Iraqi witnesses said Sunday they heard the sound of at least five explosions, followed by Sfeir, east of the capital Baghdad, and one of them said his wife and children were still in shock.
Other witnesses reported hearing the sound of successive gunfire and seeing columns of red flares lighting up the sky over the area, indicating that the US embassy’s C-RAM missile defense system was activated.
And on Sunday, the missiles exploded in a single hit near the US embassy in Baghdad, escalating tension ahead of the anniversary of the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in the Iraqi capital by a US attack.
Western and Iraqi officials held armed militias, including the pro-Iranian “Hezbollah Brigades”, responsible for the attack.
“Brazen and reckless attack” … Washington condemns Baghdad attack
Although he agreed to an open truce in October, Sunday’s attack appears to be his third offense.
Iraqi security forces issued a statement saying the attack caused property damage but no casualties.
A security source told AFP that three missiles landed near the headquarters of the US diplomatic mission, while two other rockets hit separate residential neighborhoods.
A witness who lives in a fortified apartment complex across the street from the embassy said his building was damaged.
“Everyone is crying and screaming. My wife lost her nerve over all those horrible sounds,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Dozens of missiles and improvised explosive devices have targeted the United States embassy and other foreign military and diplomatic sites since fall 2019.
The first attack took place on November 17 and a barrage of missiles hit the US embassy and various parts of the Iraqi capital, killing a woman.
On December 10, two convoys carrying logistics equipment to the US-led coalition to help Iraqi forces fight the jihadists were attacked with improvised explosive devices.
Groups that US and Iraqi officials consider a front of known armed factions allied with Iran have claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Iran’s militias “condemn the opportune moment”
But in an unusual move, various factions condemned Sunday’s attack.
“No one has the right to use weapons outside the framework of the state,” Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Twitter.
Even the Hezbollah Brigades, a group that has been blamed for other attacks, issued a statement on the Internet in which they affirmed that “the bombing of the embassy at this time is an uncontrolled act and the competent authorities must follow up on the perpetrators and arrest them (…) We condemn the indiscriminate shooting of the military barracks of the embassy because they represent a real threat to the lives of civilians. “
Perhaps the purpose of the statement is to defuse tension ahead of the first anniversary of a January 3 US drone strike in Baghdad that killed Soleimani and the leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.
Western and Iraqi officials told France Press they believe Iran is trying to keep calm before US President Donald Trump leaves the White House next month.
Trump has adopted a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, which has also put pressure on its allies in neighboring Iraq.
Two senior Iraqi officials told France Press earlier this month that the US diplomatic mission had already withdrawn its staff in part due to security concerns.
They described the move as a small reduction in the number of employees based on security reserves on the US side, not as a breakdown in diplomatic relations.
