US Voices Outrage over Rocket Attacks in Iraq but Will Not 'Lash Out'

Iraqi counter-terrorism forces stand guard in front of the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Iraqi counter-terrorism forces stand guard in front of the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (AFP file photo)
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US Voices Outrage over Rocket Attacks in Iraq but Will Not 'Lash Out'

Iraqi counter-terrorism forces stand guard in front of the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Iraqi counter-terrorism forces stand guard in front of the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. (AFP file photo)

The United States said on Monday it was outraged by rocket attacks on coalition forces and others in Iraq but stressed it would not “lash out” and would respond at a time and place of its choosing.

“We have seen the reports of the rocket fire today ... as you heard us say in the aftermath of the tragic attack in Erbil, we are outraged by the recent attacks,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

Most attacks cause no casualties but the latest rocket attack, on Monday, was the third in Iraq in just over a week to target Green Zone areas that host US troops, diplomats or contractors.

Price said the United States was still determining who was behind last week’s attack on the Erbil International Airport compound that killed a contractor working with US forces at the military base on the compound.

“When it comes to our response, we will respond in a way that’s calculated within our own timetable and using a mix of tools at a time and place of our choosing,” Price said of the Erbil attack. “What we will not do is lash out and risk an escalation that plays into the hands of Iran, and contributes to their attempts to further destabilize Iraq.”

At least two rockets hit Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on Monday but caused no casualties, the Iraqi military said. The rockets in such attacks are typically fired by groups that US and Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran.



Israel Is Ramping up Annexation of West Bank, UN Rights Chief Says 

Israeli army vehicles block a road during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 14 March 2025. (EPA)
Israeli army vehicles block a road during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 14 March 2025. (EPA)
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Israel Is Ramping up Annexation of West Bank, UN Rights Chief Says 

Israeli army vehicles block a road during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 14 March 2025. (EPA)
Israeli army vehicles block a road during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 14 March 2025. (EPA)

Israel has significantly expanded and consolidated settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of the steady integration of these territories into the State of Israel, in breach of international law, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday.

The report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council later this month comes amid growing fears of annexation amid US policy shifts under President Donald Trump and new settler outposts in areas of the West Bank seen as part of a future Palestinian state.

"The transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime," UN High Commissioner Volker Turk said in a statement accompanying the report, urging the international community to take meaningful action on Israel’s advancing settlement.

"Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, stop the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population, and prevent and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers," he said.

Israel disengaged from the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year, alleging a chronic anti-Israeli bias. Its military says it is conducting counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and targeting suspected militants.