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Two Rockets Hit Baghdad’s Fortified Green Zone

Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)
Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)
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Two Rockets Hit Baghdad’s Fortified Green Zone

Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)
Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019. (Reuters)

Two Katyusha rockets hit Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, Iraq's state news agency reported early on Sunday citing security forces.

One rocket was destroyed in the air by the C-RAM defense system and the other landed near the zone's festivals arena damaging two cars, the report added.

Security forces started an investigation to detect the launch site, the agency reported.

A US military official told Reuters that the C-RAM system brought down one of the rounds and none of them landed on the US embassy. The official said there were no American casualties.

The Green Zone hosts foreign embassies, including the US embassy, and government buildings and is regularly the target of rockets fired by groups that US and Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran.

US officials have said Iranian-backed militia could increase attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria in coming weeks, in part to mark the anniversary of the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

The two were killed by a US drone strike in Iraq on Jan. 2, 2020.

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Nearly 700 Americans Have Left Lebanon as Hostilities Mount

This picture shows a view of destruction following an overnight Israeli air strike on the neighborhood of Kafaat in Beirut's southern suburbs, on October 7, 2024. (AFP)
This picture shows a view of destruction following an overnight Israeli air strike on the neighborhood of Kafaat in Beirut's southern suburbs, on October 7, 2024. (AFP)
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Nearly 700 Americans Have Left Lebanon as Hostilities Mount

This picture shows a view of destruction following an overnight Israeli air strike on the neighborhood of Kafaat in Beirut's southern suburbs, on October 7, 2024. (AFP)
This picture shows a view of destruction following an overnight Israeli air strike on the neighborhood of Kafaat in Beirut's southern suburbs, on October 7, 2024. (AFP)

The State Department says nearly 700 American citizens, green card holders and family members have now left Lebanon aboard US-contracted planes since late September as hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalate and fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East grow.

The department said Monday that about 90 passengers — less than a third of the planes 300-person capacity — departed Beirut for Istanbul, Türkiye, on Sunday on the latest flight.

Hundreds of other Americans have left Lebanon aboard regularly scheduled commercial flights since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified.

The department said it has made more than 2,900 seats available for Americans on those flights.

Twenty Indonesian nationals and a Lebanese evacuated from Lebanon arrived in Jakarta on a commercial flight early Monday and will likely be followed by 20 more in the afternoon, officials said.

President Joko Widodo has called to prioritize the evacuation of Indonesians in Lebanon as hostilities mount.

“I have directed the foreign affairs minister to take immediate action to ensure the safety and protection of our citizens and expedite their evacuation,” Widodo said last week.

Indonesia’s Embassy in Beirut had prepared evacuation procedures for citizens as part of its contingency planning since August. The Embassy evacuated 25 Indonesian citizens who returned safely to Indonesia last month, said Judha Nugraha, Director of Indonesian Citizen Protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

There are 116 registered Indonesian citizens in Lebanon, most of them students, migrant workers and people married to Lebanese nationals. Many of them have chosen to remain there for various reasons, Nugraha said.