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
TT

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.



Lebanon Assesses Damage after Israel Strikes Hezbollah-run Financial Institution

Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
TT

Lebanon Assesses Damage after Israel Strikes Hezbollah-run Financial Institution

Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings a the site of an Israeli airstrike on Sunday night that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut's southern suburb, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese were surveying the damage on Monday after overnight Israeli strikes hit nearly a dozen branches of a Hezbollah-run financial institution that Israel says is used to fund attacks but where many ordinary people keep their savings.

The strikes targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan branches in the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it. Smoke rose from several locations on Monday.

The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes. There were no reports of casualties, The AP reported.

Israel invaded Lebanon earlier this month, saying it aims to push Hezbollah from the border after more than a year of rocket, missile and drone attacks that began after Palestinian Hamas militants launched their surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israeli airstrikes have pounded large areas of Lebanon for weeks, forcing over a million people to flee their homes.

The United States is hoping to revive diplomatic efforts to resolve both conflicts after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip last week, but so far all sides appear to be digging in.

Hezbollah-run lender filled gaps left by Lebanon's troubled banks The Arabic language spokesman for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said warplanes targeted several locations “used to store money for the military arm of Hezbollah," including Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which he said finances arms purchases and is used to pay fighters.

He said Hezbollah stores hundreds of millions of dollars in the branches, without providing evidence, and that the strikes were aimed at preventing the group from rearming.

The institution has more than 30 branches across Lebanon. It tried to reassure customers, saying it had evacuated all branches and relocated gold and other deposits to safe areas.

Many customers are civilians unaffiliated with Hezbollah. The registered nonprofit has long served as an alternative to Lebanon's banks, which have imposed restrictions in the face of a severe financial crisis that began in 2019.

Bulldozers cleared mounds of rubble at the site of one strike. Clothes, furniture and the remains of a beauty salon were seen in the debris. Al-Qard al-Hassan documents were scattered across the area, but there was no sign of cash or other valuables.