US Embassy in Baghdad Targeted by Rockets Yet Again

The United States Embassy in Iraq late Sunday evening once again came under heavy rocket fire, in what has become a recurring event in the war-torn country’s capital. No casualties were reported beyond one local soldier suffering minor injuries, and several buildings and vehicles were damaged, as eight Katyusha rockets landed in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where foreign diplomats and their missions are stationed. While no group claimed official responsibility for the attack, Washington has in the past blamed Iran-backed militias within the Iraqi army for similar incidents. A spokesman for the Iraqi government condemned the rocket strike, along with the US State Department. In recent months, identical attacks launched on the American compound killed several local residents in the area, and led Washington to threaten to pull its diplomatic presence from Iraq entirely. Baghdad then managed to procure a commitment from several militia groups to temporarily halt the firing, on condition that the US present a timetable for its military evacuation of Iraq. That October agreement has since collapsed.