Missiles Hit Near U.S. Embassy

Missiles hit near US embassy in Iraq, base housing troops after generals slain

Two rockets hit Iraq’s Al-Balad air base Saturday, where US troops are stationed, while two mortars hit Baghdad’s Green Zone, a high-security enclave housing the US embassy, security sources said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in either attack.

The attacks came a day after a deadly American drone strike outside the Baghdad airport on Friday killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, top Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and a clutch of other Iranian and Iraqi figures.

In Baghdad, mortar rounds on Saturday evening hit the Green Zone, the high-security enclave where the US embassy is based, security sources said.

The Iraqi military said that one projectile hit inside the zone, while another landed close to the enclave.

Sirens rang out at the US compound, sources there told AFP.

A pair of Katyusha rockets then hit the Balad airbase north of Baghdad, where American troops are based, security sources and the Iraqi military said.

Security sources there reported blaring sirens and said surveillance drones were sent above the base to locate the source of the rockets.

Analysts on Israel’s Channel 12 news said the strikes were likely a retaliation by Iraqi militias reacting to the death of Muhandis, rather than an Iranian response.