Iraqi Army: 2 Rockets Hit Baghdad's Green Zone

 In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP
In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP
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Iraqi Army: 2 Rockets Hit Baghdad's Green Zone

 In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP
In this file photo taken on December 29, 2014 US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located thirty kilometres north of the capital Baghdad. -AFP

Two rockets hit Iraqi capital's high-security Green Zone early Thursday, hours before US-led forces were set to pull out of a second base in the country.

The two projectiles struck near the Baghdad Operations Command, which coordinates Iraq's police and military forces, the military said.

The command center is a few hundred meters away from the US Embassy, which is a regular target of rocket attacks. However, an Iraqi security official who spoke on condition of anonymity said there were no casualties.

Some 7,500 troops are in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition helping local troops fight terrorist remnants.

However, the number is being brought down by temporarily bringing some trainers home as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus pandemic. The alliance is also leaving other Iraqi bases altogether.

It was the latest rocket attack to strike the Green Zone since three rockets hit an area near the embassy last Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this month, two US military personnel and a British soldier were killed in a rocket attack on the Taji airbase further north, which was hit again two days later.

The repeated assaults prompted US airstrikes against what US officials said were mainly weapons facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Iraqi militia group believed to be responsible for the attack.



Blinken Heads to the Middle East as US Looks to Kickstart Gaza Ceasefire Talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a joint press conference between the US President and the German Chancellor at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 18 October 2024.(EPA)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a joint press conference between the US President and the German Chancellor at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 18 October 2024.(EPA)
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Blinken Heads to the Middle East as US Looks to Kickstart Gaza Ceasefire Talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a joint press conference between the US President and the German Chancellor at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 18 October 2024.(EPA)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a joint press conference between the US President and the German Chancellor at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 18 October 2024.(EPA)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart for the Middle East on Monday, the State Department said, as Washington is pushing to kickstart ceasefire negotiations to end the Gaza war following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The top US diplomat's latest trip to the region, his eleventh since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas that triggered the Gaza war, comes even as Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and in Lebanon against Iran-aligned Hezbollah party.

Blinken will discuss with regional leaders the importance of ending the Gaza war, ways to chart a post-conflict plan for the Palestinian enclave, as well as how to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the State Department said in a statement.

The top diplomat's trip will start with Israel, the State Department said, but did not provide the other exact destinations.

"Throughout the region, Secretary Blinken will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people," the State Department said in a statement.

"He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives," it said.

US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in the Nov. 5 presidential election, and several other Western leaders have said they all would like the year-long Gaza war to end after Israel last week killed Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already said the war will continue, and analysts say he may prefer to wait out the end of Biden's term, which ends in January, and take his chances with the next president, whether Harris or her Republican rival Donald Trump, with whom Netanyahu has had close ties.

Blinken will also underscore that additional food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid must be delivered to civilians in Gaza, the State Department said.

Israel has stepped up its military campaign in Gaza in recent days. As the fighting has continued, health officials have reported shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies to treat patients in the three remaining hospitals still partially operating in the area.

The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas killed around 1,200 people, with another 253 taken back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent war has devastated Gaza, killing more than 42,500 Palestinians, with another 10,000 uncounted dead thought to lie under the rubble, Gaza health authorities say.