Several rockets arrived near the U.S. embassy in the Iraqi capital early Sunday. (Representative)
Baghdad, Iraq:
Several rockets arrived near the U.S. embassy in the Iraqi capital early Sunday, an American military source said. This was the latest in a series of attacks on US assets in the country.
The attack made warning sirens roar across the diplomatic terrain, but it was unclear exactly what was hit and how many rockets hit, the U.S. source and a nearby western diplomat AFP said.
There were no immediate reports of victims.
AFP's correspondents heard several strong explosions, followed by aircraft circling near the Green Zone, the high-security enclave where the U.S. mission is located.
It was the 19th attack since October that targeted either the embassy or the approximately 5,200 US troops deployed alongside local forces across Iraq.
The attacks are never claimed, but the U.S. has been pointing at Iran-backed groups within Hashed al-Shaabi, a military network officially integrated into Iraqi state security forces.
In late December, a US contractor was killed in a rocket attack on K1's northern Iraqi base, triggering a dramatic series of events.
Washington responded with retaliation against a hard-nosed hashed faction in western Iraq. Days later, an American drone attack in Baghdad killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and his right-hand man, Hashed's deputy chief, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Hashed factions have vowed revenge for the couple's death and have insisted that US troops should leave Iraq immediately.
The attack on Sunday occurred just hours after a Hashed-backed faction of the Hashed, Harakat al-Nujaba, announced a "countdown" to drive American forces out of the country.
He tweeted a photo of an American military vehicle and added, "We're closer than you think."
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)
