Hours after Withdrawal Announcement, US Diplomats Targeted in Iraq

The US Embassy in Baghdad came under fire Tuesday evening as seven rockets landed in or near the capital city’s diplomatic quarter. The rocket fire came mere hours after President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to withdraw thousands of troops from the region. One child was killed and five people were wounded by a rocket that landed outside the Green Zone, as the the heavily fortified area that houses foreign missions and government buildings is known. The four rockets that landed near the US Embassy caused no casualties. While no one immediately claimed responsibility, identical strikes against the Green Zone in recent months were carried out by Iraqi militias aligned with Iran in an attempt to hasten the departure of American forces. Earlier on Tuesday, Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller announced that the US would pull approximately 2,000 troops from Afghanistan and 500 from Iraq by mid-January.