Official: US Forces Accounted for after Reported Rocket Attack in Baghdad

US vehicles are seen in Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar, Iraq. Reuters file photo
US vehicles are seen in Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar, Iraq. Reuters file photo
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Official: US Forces Accounted for after Reported Rocket Attack in Baghdad

US vehicles are seen in Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar, Iraq. Reuters file photo
US vehicles are seen in Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar, Iraq. Reuters file photo

Multiple Katyusha rockets were fired near Baghdad International Airport, two Iraqi military officials told Reuters early on Tuesday, but a US official disputed reports that US military forces were targeted in the incident.

"All military personnel are accounted for and military forces were not targeted as had been reported," the US defense official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The incident was a reminder of the soaring tensions in the Middle East, as speculation swirled about whether Iran and Iran-backed groups would make good on threats to retaliate after a series of Israeli major blows against Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Two Iraqi security sources said an initial investigation showed three rockets were fired, including one that landed near buildings used by Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, causing damages and fire to some vehicles but no casualties.

The sources had previously said at least two Katyusha rockets were also fired at a military base hosting US forces and that air defenses intercepted the rockets.

But the US official said Washington was aware of reports of an attack instead on the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Complex, which is a Department of State facility.

"For details about the incident we refer you to the State Department," the official said.

A US Department of State is assessing the damage caused by the attack, according to a spokesperson, who said there were no casualties.



Libya Preparing to Restart Oil Output as Central Bank Crisis Eases

A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Libya Preparing to Restart Oil Output as Central Bank Crisis Eases

A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Libya was preparing to restart oil production that has been shut since late of August after an agreement on a new head of the central bank was reached, two oilfield engineers told Reuters on Tuesday.

"We are now waiting for orders from the Corporation (the state oil firm) to resume production at its normal levels after a month-long stoppage," said an engineer from the Jalu 59 oilfield.

An engineer from the El-Feel oilfield said they took advantage of the almost one-month closure to carry out maintenance.

National production and export operations were stopped in August when the parallel government in eastern Libya declared the closure of oil facilities in a protest of the ousting of veteran Central Bank of Libya (CBL) governor Sadiq Kabir by the Presidential Council in Tripoli.

A new CBL governor, Naji Mohamed Issa Belgasem, and his deputy, Mari Muftah Rahil Barrasi were approved on Monday by the two legislative bodies; the east-based House of Representatives in Benghazi and High State Council in Tripoli.

Belgasem and Barrasi took an oath before parliament on Tuesday during a televised session.

Libya's National Oil Corporation said on Aug. 28 that oil production had dropped by more than half of typical levels. It has not made public any new production figures since then.

Libya's oil output has been disrupted repeatedly in the chaotic decade since the country divided in 2014 between two administrations in its east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Moammar al-Gaddafi in 2011.