Two rockets land in Iraq’s Green Zone, no casualties reported

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two rockets landed in Iraq’s fortified Green Zone early on Thursday but caused no casualties, the Iraqi military said in a statement.

According to the Iraqi Army, two Katyusha rockets landed near the United States Embassy in Baghdad, located in the Green Zone, shortly after midnight.  

No group took immediate responsibility for the attack.

However, the incident occurred several hours after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missile strikes at airbases in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in retaliation for the US killing of Iranian general Qasim Soleimani.

Read More: Iran strikes military bases in Iraq, Kurdistan housing US forces: Pentagon

According to an Iraqi military statement, 22 ballistic missiles were launched at the Ain al-Assad air base in the western Anbar province that houses American and coalition troops as well as a base in the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil.

The statement said two of the 17 missiles at Ain al-Assad did not detonate. The five missiles launched in Erbil targeted US-led coalition headquarters, it added. Neither attack caused any casualties, the military said.

Outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi was apparently informed about Iran’s missile strikes in Iraq before they happened, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Iran has warned the US that it would target Washington’s neighboring allies Israel and the United Arab Emirates, if a retaliatory attack on Iranian soil occurs.

US President Donald Trump explained on Wednesday that the Iranian missile attacks that targeted two bases that host US troops had done limited damage, and he would respond accordingly—not with a military strike, but with yet more economic sanctions.