Attacks on US-led Coalition in Iraq ‘will not be tolerated’: spox

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Attacks on Coalition personnel and facilities will not be tolerated, the spokesperson of the US-led Coalition to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) said in a statement Tuesday after a mortar attack on in Baghdad Green Zone, which houses the US embassy, on Monday night.

Two mortar shells landed near the US embassy compound in Baghdad’s secure Green Zone late on Monday – the second such attack on the zone in four months.

The Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) said Tuesday it takes such attacks seriously, issuing a stern warning to the perpetrators.

“The CJTF-OIR continues to work by, with, and through our Iraqi Security Forces partners to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh,” Coalition spokesperson Col. Myles B. Caggins III said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. 

“There have been no claims of responsibility for the recent attack in Baghdad, and no Coalition or US-occupied facility was struck. But we take this incident seriously as do our Iraqi Security Forces partners.” 

“We have made clear that attacks on Coalition personnel and facilities will not be tolerated and Coalition forces retain the right to defend ourselves,” Caggins said. 

The Coalition is in Iraq “at the invitation of the Government of Iraq” to support the country, he added.

Following the attack, the US Embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert advising American citizens not to travel to Iraq and for those currently in the country to “remain vigilant.” 

“Attacks in major cities may occur without warning, particularly after dark. US citizens, and places where US citizens are known to gather, are likely to be targeted in such events,” the security alert read.

No one has claimed responsibility for Monday night’s attack. However, Iran-backed units of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic, are among the primary suspects. 

The Iraqi government has ordered the PMF and its affiliates to stop targeting US interests in Iraq as it risks dragging the country into a proxy war between Iran and the US. 

Iraq has experienced decades of conflict and unrest. Baghdad has seen a period of relative calm since late 2017 when the government announced the territorial defeat of ISIS – at the cost of massive destruction in major Sunni cities.

Now as it aims to rebuild the country and move forward, the Iraqi government has said it wants to remain neutral amid rising US-Iran tensions.

Baghdad is a close ally of both Washington and Tehran. 

Pro-Iran members of the Iraqi parliament have long called for US forces to be evicted from the country.

Updated 10:58 AM on September 25, 2019