Back to back rockets were fire at the US Embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Friday.
Baghdad: Back-to-back rockets have been fired at the US Embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Friday, IANS reported, quoting an Iraqi Interior Ministry source. The attack took place before dawn, and the rockets landed near the United States Embassy, which is located in the city’s Green Zone. Notably, the area also houses key Iraqi government offices, an anonymous source informed Xinhua. Entire area was buzzed with loud siren noises.
Fortunately, no information of any casualty reported yet. It is worth noting that the rocket attack is a part of a series of attacks by armed Shiite militias specifically targeting US military bases, that houses the US troops in Iraq and US bases in Syria, responding to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter), loud sirens are heard amid a series of explosions close to the structure. Another clip shows an area of the city’s diplomatic zone where explosions can be heard.
صوت الانفجارات التي استهدفت السفارة الأميركية في المنطقة الخضراء في العاصمة العراقية بغداد قبل قليل pic.twitter.com/2Y008GSjYU
— ألراصد سيّدْ عبدالزهره أَلذَبحْاوُيِ (@Althebhawy) December 8, 2023
The Green Zone, a 10-square-kilometer area on the west bank of the Tigris River in Baghdad, has been frequently targeted by mortar and rocket attacks from insurgents.
As per the Pentagon, since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, US forces stationed in Iraq and Syria have faced 66 attacks, resulting in injuries to over 60 personnel. Remarkably, diplomatic missions had been spared until now.
The US has sporadically responded to these assaults and has accused Iran of actively supporting rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups on its forces. In a November statement, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized that while Washington does not seek conflict and has no intention of engaging in further hostilities, the Iranian-backed attacks against US forces are unacceptable and must cease.
Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amirabdollahian, has stated that Tehran neither issues orders to resistance groups across the region nor prevents them from making decisions in their own countries based on their interests.
As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the US embassy on Friday.
