Rockets Hit Iraqi Base North of Baghdad

Iraqi security forces gather at a checkpoint into the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq December 10, 2018. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani/Files
Iraqi security forces gather at a checkpoint into the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq December 10, 2018. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani/Files
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Rockets Hit Iraqi Base North of Baghdad

Iraqi security forces gather at a checkpoint into the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq December 10, 2018. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani/Files
Iraqi security forces gather at a checkpoint into the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq December 10, 2018. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani/Files

Two Katyusha rockets hit an Iraqi base north of Baghdad late Saturday but missed US-led coalition troops stationed there, Iraq's military and a coalition official said.

A statement from Iraq's security forces said the rockets were launched north of Baghdad and did not cause any damage to the Taji base.

A coalition official confirmed the projectiles fell outside the coalition's segment of the base.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

It was the third attack in a week to target US troops or diplomats.

Two rockets struck the grounds of the vast Baghdad airport complex on Monday and an unguided rocket hit close to the fortified US embassy two days later.

The attacks follow several weeks of relative respite from more than two dozen similar incidents in recent months.

Since October, at least 30 attacks have targeted American troops or diplomats, severely straining ties between Baghdad and Washington.

Tensions reached boiling point in January when the US killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Popular Mobilization Forces commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike in Baghdad.

Washington has accused armed groups backed by Iran for the repeated rocket attacks. But it also blamed the Iraqi government for not doing enough to protect US installations.

The first session of the much-anticipated strategic talks between the US and Iraq began Thursday, and is to lay the agenda for the months ahead, including the presence of US troops in the country, Iran-backed militia groups acting outside of the state and Iraq’s dire economic crisis.

US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker, in comments to reporters in Washington following the session, said Iraq had committed to “moving ahead and undertaking their obligations,” with regards to militia attacks targeting the American presence.



Israeli Airstrike Kills 2 in Gaza Refugee Camp

27 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir El-Balah: People inspect damages after a reported overnight Israeli strike that hit tents used as temporary shelters by displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
27 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir El-Balah: People inspect damages after a reported overnight Israeli strike that hit tents used as temporary shelters by displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Israeli Airstrike Kills 2 in Gaza Refugee Camp

27 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir El-Balah: People inspect damages after a reported overnight Israeli strike that hit tents used as temporary shelters by displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
27 September 2024, Palestinian Territories, Deir El-Balah: People inspect damages after a reported overnight Israeli strike that hit tents used as temporary shelters by displaced Palestinians in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

An Israeli airstrike killed at least two people and wounded 11 others in the central Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, the Awda hospital said.

The strike hit a house late Friday in the camp, according to the hospital which received the casualties in the first hours of Saturday.

At least 41,586 Palestinians have been killed and 96,210 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza's health ministry said in an update on Saturday.

Over the past few days, the Israeli military has carried out strikes in northern and central Gaza, which they said were targeting Hamas militants operating from civilian areas.