Green Zone rocket attack was ‘a cowardly, terrorist move’: Iraqi PM

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has called Sunday night’s rocket attack on Baghdad’s Green Zone a “cowardly, terrorist move”.

Kadhimi denounced the attack at a press conference that took place shortly after the Council of Ministers he leads voted to approve the Federal Budget Bill for 2021 on Monday night.

“The attack on the Green Zone was a cowardly, terrorist move,” the Iraqi premier said at a press conference.

“We will not accept any attacks on diplomatic missions in Iraq,” he said. “We have arrested a number of people suspected of the attacks.”

Multiple rockets launched by an "outlaw group" fell inside al-Qadisiyah residential complex near the United States Embassy, causing material damage to buildings, the US Embassy compound, and a number of civilian vehicles, but without reports of casualties, Iraqi Security Media Cell reported on Sunday.

The rockets were launched from the vicinity of al-Rasheed military camp, a former Iraqi military intelligence base located on the southern outskirts of Baghdad.

“These sorts of attacks on diplomatic facilities are a violation of international law and are a direct assault on the sovereignty of the Iraqi government,” the US embassy stated, calling on Iraq’s leaders to take steps to prevent these attacks and hold the perpetrators responsible.

The Iraqi Presidency also condemned the attack, saying in a statement posted to Telegram that “such criminal acts have the potential to endanger the lives, security and property of Iraqi citizens.”