Rocket Attack At Baghdad Airport As Tensions Spike

Several killed in rocket attack at Baghdad airport as tensions spike

By TOI STAFF

At least three Katyusha rockets struck inside Baghdad’s international airport just after midnight on Friday morning, security forces said, as tensions in the Iraqi capital continued to simmer days after the storming of the US embassy compound there.

Iraq’s Security Media Cell, which releases information regarding Iraqi security, said the rockets landed near the airport’s cargo hall. It reported several casualties and said two cars were on fire.

An Iraqi security official told The Associated Press that four people were killed in the attack.

Pictures purporting to show the airport shared on social media showed two large fires burning.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though an unconfirmed al-Arabiya report claimed US forces were behind the attack.

The incident came hours after US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned that the US was embarking on a more aggressive mission to counter Iranian influence in Iraq and across the Mideast, including possible pre-emptive attacks to thwart activities by Iran-backed fighters.

Two SUVs were hit on the road leading to the arrival/departure of Baghdad International Airport pic.twitter.com/9xZVlGVEeA 

— Steven nabil (@thestevennabil) January 2, 2020

According to an unconfirmed report by a reporter for the al-Hurrah news outlet in Iraq, among those hit early Friday was Mohammed Ridha, a senior official in the Popular Mobilization Units, an amalgamation of various Shiite militias in Iraq backed by Iran.

The report indicated that Ridha and other “high-level guests” he was traveling with in a convoy at the airport were killed in the strike, which hit two SUVs.

Rockets Strike #Iraq's #BaghdadAirport, #USMilitary Choppers Spotted in Airspace. Three rockets landed on the edge of #Baghdad International Airport , causing explosions but no deaths or injuries, according to local reporters.#IraqiProtests pic.twitter.com/fdEFmkTxpq

— Ehab Al Obaidy (@Ehab8Alobaidy) January 2, 2020

Ridha was reportedly one of the main coordinators behind a series of riots outside the US embassy in Baghdad earlier this week. 

Esper warned Thursday that Iran or its proxy forces may be planning further strikes on American interests in the Middle East. Without providing details, he said the US has “indications” that more Iranian provocations may be in the offing. If that happens, he said, the US will take action — preemptively, if it has enough warning.

“The game has changed,” Esper said, telling reporters that violent acts by Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq — including a rocket attack on December 27 that killed one American — will be met with US military force. The US had retaliated by launching air strikes that killed 25 fighters of Iran-back militia Kataeb Hezbollah.

In response, Iran-backed militias marched on the US embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone, camping out for two days inside the mission’s outer perimeter before retreating.

Esper said that for months the Iraqi government was urged “over and over” by senior American officials to do more to control the Iran-sponsored militia groups, such as KH, and to investigate those who instigate attacks on US targets.

“We haven’t seen sufficient action on their part,” he said, adding that Iraqi leaders must “get the Iranian influence out of the country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Baghdad International Airport hit with rockets, several people injured

By REUTERS

Iraqi paramilitary groups said five of their members and two "guests" were killed in an air strike on their vehicles inside Baghdad International Airport, militia sources reported on early Friday, after Iraq's Security Media Cell announced that three katyusha rockets had targeted Baghdad Airport.

The militia members were hosting "important guests" at Baghdad airport who were being driven in two militia vehicles that were struck by two rockets, said the militia sources.

Two militia sources said the two guests were also killed in the attack but declined to identify them.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday following U.S. air raids on Sunday against Kataib Hezbollah militia bases in retaliation for missile attacks that killed a U.S. contractor in northern Iraq last week.

Tension between the United States and Iran has ramped up in the region over U.S. economic sanctions hurting the Iranian economy. The two sides have traded blame over attacks on oil instal