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Rocket Attacks Target US Embassy, Troops in Iraq


FILE - This Jan. 3, 2020, photo shows a general view of the US Embassy across the Tigris river in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.
FILE - This Jan. 3, 2020, photo shows a general view of the US Embassy across the Tigris river in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.

Multiple rockets were fired at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq’s capital early Thursday, according to Iraqi security sources, the latest in a series of attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic sites in recent days.

The rockets did not hit the embassy, instead landing elsewhere in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq said Wednesday 14 rockets were fired at a base that hosts U.S. military personnel in the western province of Anbar.

Coalition spokesman U.S. Army Colonel Wayne Marotto said the rockets landed on the Ain Al-Assad Air Base and its perimeter, and that two people sustained minor injuries.

Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Yehia Rasool called the rocket fire a “terrorist attack,” and said, “the enemies of Iraq are intrusive and targeting the country’s security, sovereignty and the safety of our citizens.”

The United States has blamed Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq and Syria for a wave of attacks on U.S. troops and military facilities where they are based.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at a briefing Wednesday that those attacks “are representative of the threat that Iran-backed militias present fundamentally to Iraq’s sovereignty and to Iraq’s stability.”

The U.S. military has responded with airstrikes targeting positions used by Iran-backed militias. The Pentagon said late last month its strikes were aimed at preventing deterring future attacks.

This report includes information from AFP and Reuters.

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