Rockets Targeting US Embassy Land Inside Baghdad's Green Zone

FILE PHOTO: An Iraqi security officer stands guard next to the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily
FILE PHOTO: An Iraqi security officer stands guard next to the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily
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Rockets Targeting US Embassy Land Inside Baghdad's Green Zone

FILE PHOTO: An Iraqi security officer stands guard next to the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily
FILE PHOTO: An Iraqi security officer stands guard next to the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily

At least three Katyusha rockets landed in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in an attack targeting the US Embassy, two Iraqi security sources said on Sunday.

The Iraqi military said that an "outlaw group" fired rockets at Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday.

The rockets hit a residential complex inside the Green Zone, damaging buildings and cars but causing no casualties, a military statement said.

Sirens blared from the embassy compound inside the zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions.

An anti-rocket system diverted one of the rockets, said one security official whose office is inside the Green Zone.

No casualties were reported, sources told Reuters.

US officials blame Iran-backed militia for regular rocket attacks on US facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy in Baghdad.

An array of militia groups announced in October that they had suspended rocket attacks on US forces on condition that Iraq's government present a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.

But a rocket strike on the US Embassy on Nov. 18 was also a clear sign that Iranian-backed militias had decided to resume attacks on US bases, according to Iraqi security officials.

Washington, which is slowly reducing its 5,000 troops in Iraq, threatened to shut its embassy unless the Iraqi government reins in Iran-aligned militias.



At Least 7 Killed in Israeli Raid and Airstrikes on West Bank

Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)
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At Least 7 Killed in Israeli Raid and Airstrikes on West Bank

Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles followed by a military bulldozer operate during an Israeli raid at Al-Farea refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Tubas, 05 November 2024. (EPA)

At least seven people were killed on Tuesday during an Israeli military raid and airstrikes on the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Five of the seven people were killed in two separate Israeli attacks in and near the city of Qabatiya, while the two others were killed in the Tammoun area, the ministry said.

The Israeli military said its aircraft had targeted a group of gunmen and that its forces had arrested 60 fighters.

The Islamic Jihad's armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, said its fighters had clashed with Israeli forces in both Qabatia and the Tamoun areas.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, with almost daily sweeps by Israeli forces that have involved thousands of arrests and regular gunbattles between security forces and Palestinian fighters.