At least eight Katyusha rockets landed in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in an attack targeting the US Embassy, the Iraqi military and the embassy says.
A member of the Iraqi security forces inspects the damage outside the Zawraa park in Baghdad on 18 November, 2020, after rockets slammed into the Iraqi capital. Photo: AFP / Ahmad Al-Rubaye
The Iraqi military said an "outlaw group" fired eight rockets. Most of the missiles hit a residential complex and a security checkpoint inside the zone, damaging buildings and cars and wounding one Iraqi soldier, 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.
The US Embassy condemned the attack and urged all Iraqi political and governmental leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and to hold accountable those responsible.
"The US Embassy confirms rockets targeting the International Zone resulted in the engagement of Embassy defensive systems. There was some minor damage on the Embassy compound but no injuries or casualties," it said in a statement.
In a subsequent statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there had been at least one Iraqi civilian casualty and wished those hurt a speedy recovery.
US officials blame Iran-backed militia for regular rocket attacks on US facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy in Baghdad. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility.
Pompeo called such militias the most serious impediment to peace and prosperity in Iraq.
"We call on all Iraqis to support their government's efforts to reinforce Iraq's sovereignty, to bring to justice those responsible for these reprehensible attacks and ensure that all the currently Iran-backed militias are under state control," he said.
A spokesperson for the Iraqi president also condemned the attack.
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.
A rocket strike on the US Embassy on 18 November was 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 5000 troops in Iraq, threatened to shut its embassy unless the Iraqi government reins in Iran-aligned militias.
- Reuters