Iraqi Military: 5 Dead, 2 Wounded in Baghdad Rocket Attack

Five Iraqi civilians were killed and two severely wounded after a Katyusha rocket hit near Baghdad airport. (AFP)
Five Iraqi civilians were killed and two severely wounded after a Katyusha rocket hit near Baghdad airport. (AFP)
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Iraqi Military: 5 Dead, 2 Wounded in Baghdad Rocket Attack

Five Iraqi civilians were killed and two severely wounded after a Katyusha rocket hit near Baghdad airport. (AFP)
Five Iraqi civilians were killed and two severely wounded after a Katyusha rocket hit near Baghdad airport. (AFP)

Five Iraqi civilians were killed and two severely wounded Monday after a Katyusha rocket hit near Baghdad airport, Iraq's military said. It was the first time in months an attack caused civilian casualties.

The rocket targeted the international airport but struck a residential home close by instead. Among the dead were three children and two women. Two children were also severely wounded. The home was completely destroyed.

The rocket was launched from the al-Jihad neighborhood of Baghdad.

A statement from the military described the attack as a “cowardly crime" perpetrated by “criminal gangs” with the aim of creating chaos and terrorizing people.

It said Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had ordered the arrest of the perpetrators and said “these gangs will not be allowed to go around and tamper with security” with impunity.

The attacks have become a frequent occurrence, often targeting the US Embassy in Baghdad, within the heavily fortified Green Zone, and US troops present in Iraqi bases as well as the Baghdad airport. Roadside bombs have also frequently targeted convoys carrying equipment destined for US-led coalition forces.

Previous attacks have caused minor damage but rarely deaths or injuries.

The frequency of the rockets has strained Iraq-US relations, prompting the Trump administration last week to threaten to close its diplomatic mission in Baghdad if pro-Iran militias believed to be orchestrating them are not reigned in.

The disparate nature of militias following the US killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis has complicated Iraqi efforts to clamp down on rogue armed elements.

A government raid on the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, suspected of launching rocket attacks, backfired when those detained were released for want of evidence.



Rescuers Say Israeli Strike Killed at Least 12 People in South Gaza 

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
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Rescuers Say Israeli Strike Killed at Least 12 People in South Gaza 

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)

The civil defense agency in Gaza said an Israeli strike on a tent housing displaced Palestinians near the southern city of Khan Younis on Wednesday killed at least 12 people.  

"At least 12 people were killed, including several children and women, in a strike by an Israeli drone this morning on a tent for displaced persons" near Khan Younis, the agency's spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding that four more people had been killed in other strikes.  

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.  

Since a truce collapsed in March, Israel has intensified its operations to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war in Gaza. 

Hamas's unprecedented attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. 

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,240 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,510, mostly civilians.