At least one US embassy worker in Baghdad injured after Sunday rocket attack
27 January, 2020
Rockets struck the US embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, injuring at least one member of staff at the embassy.
Three of five rockets fired hit the embassy, a security source told AFP. The embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The attack injured some embassy staff, Al Arabiya reported. One rocket hit an embassy cafeteria at dinner time while two others landed near by, a security source said.
The embassy has been regularly hit by rockets in recent months, but none of the attacks have been claimed. Washington has blamed Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq.
Sunday's attack was the second in a week on the embassy, after three rockets landed near the mission on January 20.
A US source said at least one rocket landed near the deputy ambassador's residence last Monday.
The attack on Sunday was the first time a direct hit was reported.
It took place earlier in the day than usual, with booms heard on the western bank of the Tigris River at exactly 7.30pm.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi and Speaker of Parliament Mohammed Halbusi condemned the attack, saying it risked dragging their homeland into war.
Attacks on the embassy occurred this month after the US killed Iran's most senior general, Qassem Suleimani, and a high-ranking Iraqi militia leader, Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, near Baghdad airport.
On the afternoon of January 8, two rockets landed in the Green Zone, hours after Iran launched dozens of missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing US troops.
Source: www.thenational.ae
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