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Three Rockets Directly Hit US Embassy in Baghdad, One Wounded

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By: Elad Benari

Three out of five rockets fired on Sunday directly hit the US embassy in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, a security source told AFP.

According to the report, one of the rockets slammed into a cafeteria at dinner time. At least one person was wounded.

INN reported that the US embassy did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment. A statement by Iraqi security forces earlier on Sunday said there were no casualties in the attack.

The embassy, which is located in Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone, has been regularly hit by rockets in recent months.

The most recent attack took place last Monday, when three rockets hit near the embassy. There were no casualties in that attack, according to the INN report.

Sirens could be heard across the zone immediately after the rockets made impact.

There have been several similar attacks on the Green Zone in recent weeks amid tensions between US and Iran.

Three Katyusha rockets hit inside the compound while as many as five others landed in the area surrounding it, according to reports. American defense officials said that no one was killed in the attack, but some were wounded. It is unclear how severe the injuries are. A U.S. official told CNN that one rocket hit the embassy’s dining facility, causing damage but no fatalities.

“We are aware of reports of rockets landing in the International Zone. We call on the Government of Iraq to fulfill its obligations to protect our diplomatic facilities,” a Department of Defense spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “We will not comment further on the security situation in Baghdad.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi condemned the rocket attack and ordered Iraqi security forces to “deploy, search, and investigate to prevent the recurrence of such attacks, and to arrest those who launched these rockets so that they can be punished.”

The attacks on the Green Zone in recent weeks come amid heightened tensions between US and Iran.

At the beginning of the month, the US eliminated Qassem Soleimani, the head of the powerful Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in a drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport.

In retaliation, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq.

Last week, the US Army said that 11 US soldiers were injured in the Iranian missile strike.

The US service members were reportedly airlifted to Kuwait and Germany where they received treatment for what was described as traumatic brain injuries and underwent further tests. (INN)

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