3 rockets hit near Baghdad’s Green Zone, no injuries
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three rockets hit near Baghdad’s Green Zone overnight, the first such attack in more than three months. There are no reports of injuries.
Three rockets fell on Sunday in the capital’s Mansur district, striking near a Red Crescent hospital, a bank, and the neighbourhood’s water management department, a security source told AFP.
Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militia groups within Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) reported the rockets hit near the US embassy. The Green Zone houses government offices and diplomatic missions.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility.
The last time Baghdad’s Green Zone was attacked with rockets was on July 29, when two rockets targeted the Green Zone following the conclusion of days of strategic talks between Iraq and the US.
There have been at least 36 drone and rocket attacks on US interests in Iraq and Syria this year, according to data compiled by Rudaw English. Blame is widely laid on Iran-backed militias that want to force American troops to withdraw from Iraq.
Political parties affiliated with the PMF did poorly in Iraq’s October 10 parliamentary election and are contesting the results. Hundreds of their supporters staged a sit-in near the Green Zone while the electoral commission is conducting a partial manual recount of votes.
The attack comes just two days after the US announced sanctions targeting Iran’s drone program, which it said has been used against American forces and partners in the Middle East, including Iraq.
The US has agreed to pull its combat troops out of Iraq by the end of the year as it focuses on training and advising Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Three rockets fell on Sunday in the capital’s Mansur district, striking near a Red Crescent hospital, a bank, and the neighbourhood’s water management department, a security source told AFP.
Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militia groups within Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) reported the rockets hit near the US embassy. The Green Zone houses government offices and diplomatic missions.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility.
The last time Baghdad’s Green Zone was attacked with rockets was on July 29, when two rockets targeted the Green Zone following the conclusion of days of strategic talks between Iraq and the US.
There have been at least 36 drone and rocket attacks on US interests in Iraq and Syria this year, according to data compiled by Rudaw English. Blame is widely laid on Iran-backed militias that want to force American troops to withdraw from Iraq.
Political parties affiliated with the PMF did poorly in Iraq’s October 10 parliamentary election and are contesting the results. Hundreds of their supporters staged a sit-in near the Green Zone while the electoral commission is conducting a partial manual recount of votes.
The attack comes just two days after the US announced sanctions targeting Iran’s drone program, which it said has been used against American forces and partners in the Middle East, including Iraq.
The US has agreed to pull its combat troops out of Iraq by the end of the year as it focuses on training and advising Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS).