3 Rockets Fall Near US Embassy In Baghdad’s Green Zone

Three rockets fell near the United States embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone on Tuesday morning, reported AFP. The Green Zone houses government buildings and foreign missions. There has been no report of casualties yet.

Unidentified Iraqi police officers told Reuters that three Katyusha rockets fell inside the Green Zone. The rockets were launched from the Zafaraniyah district outside Baghdad. Sirens were sounded in the US embassy complex and those inside were asked to take shelter, The Guardian reported, citing a BBC journalist.

This came days after Iran launched an attack on two airbases housing United States soldiers in Iraq in retaliation against the assassination of its top military commander Qassem Soleimani. The assassination triggered renewed tensions between the United States and Iran. Soleimani was the head of the elite Quds Force. Tehran also accidentally shot down a passenger aircraft, killing 176 people.