Late on Wednesday, two Katyusha rockets were fired at Baghdad's highly fortified 'Green Zone Area'. The area houses government buildings and foreign embassies. One of the rockets fell 100 meters away from the American embassy.
Details of the attack
Videos have emerged of sirens sounding in the Green Zone area and the sound of blasts can also be heard.
According to reports, the rocket attack ignited fire in the Green Zone Area. Initially, it was reported that three katyusha rockets were fired, but later the Iraqi military confirmed that two rockets fell inside the area, without causing any casualties, Reuters reported. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The high-profile Green Zone area, that housed Iraqi government buildings and the foreign embassies was also attacked on Sunday. Out of six rockets that hit Baghdad, three fell in the Green Zone Area, while rest hit the nearby Jadriya area. Six people were reportedly injured in the Sunday's attack.
US-Iran relations
Hostilities between the US and Iran escalated, after a US drone strike killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, on Friday, at Baghdad International Airport. On Tuesday night, Tehran launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases of al-Asad and Erbil, housing American and other coalition forces, which did not cause casualties.
Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini called the Tuesday's missile attack as a 'slap' to America, but called such military action as "not enough".
US President Donald Trump too tweeted about the incident. "All is well!", he tweeted. "Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good," he further said.
Though Iranian state media cited 80 casualties in the Tuesday's missile attack, the numbers could not be confirmed.
Along with the Iranian general, leader of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was also killed in the American drone strike. On Wednesday, PMF, which is an umbrella of Shi'ite militia active in Iran, vowed to take revenge from America. Paramilitary chief Qais al-Khazali, blacklisted as a terrorist by the US, said Iraq's response to the US "will be no less than the size of the Iranian response"
