Baghdad residents fear for their lives as rockets target US embassy
A spike in missile attacks apparently targeting but missing the American embassy amid growing US-Iran tensions has killed four civilians and injured three more, local security sources have told a Rudaw reporter.
The heavily fortified and securitised Green Zone is home not just to government buildings and western diplomatic missions.
The area and its periphery is almost always subject to strict security. When anti-government protesters began moving away from their Tahrir Square base and held non-violent occupations of bridges leading up to the Green Zone, Iraqi security forces were quick and heavy-handed in pushing them back.
However, security forces did little to impede supporters of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia from storming the embassy compound after a US airstrike killed 25 militia members near the Syrian border.
Despite a surrounding heavy security presence, the embassy has been a frequent and long-running target for rocket attacks suspected to have been committed by Iran-backed groups.
Reporting by Mustafa Goran
The heavily fortified and securitised Green Zone is home not just to government buildings and western diplomatic missions.
The area and its periphery is almost always subject to strict security. When anti-government protesters began moving away from their Tahrir Square base and held non-violent occupations of bridges leading up to the Green Zone, Iraqi security forces were quick and heavy-handed in pushing them back.
However, security forces did little to impede supporters of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia from storming the embassy compound after a US airstrike killed 25 militia members near the Syrian border.
Despite a surrounding heavy security presence, the embassy has been a frequent and long-running target for rocket attacks suspected to have been committed by Iran-backed groups.
Reporting by Mustafa Goran