US-led coalition blames ‘terrorists’ for Green Zone attack in Baghdad

A spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) on Friday blamed "terrorists" for the attack on a heavily fortified section of Baghdad where many government buildings and foreign embassies are located the night before.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - A spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) on Friday blamed "terrorists" for the attack on a heavily fortified section of Baghdad where many government buildings and foreign embassies are located the night before.

“Terrorists attacked the Green Zone early this morning with ineffective mortar fire, causing no damage,” Army Colonel Sean Ryan posted on Twitter, without identifying which group was suspected, if any. 

“The #ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] effectively addressed the threat immediately. #Iraqis have a sense of national pride for increasing security in #Iraq & support ISF efforts to keep the peace,” he wrote. 

Three mortar shells landed inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone Thursday overnight, just after midnight local time, the Iraqi military confirmed on Friday. The mortars landed on an “abandoned lot,” resulting in “no casualties or physical damage,” a statement said.

A security source inside the Green Zone, also known as the International Zone, said the mortars landed near the Egyptian and US embassies.

Ryan told Kurdistan 24 that, by “terrorists,” he meant “any malign actors threatening Iraq security,” without mentioning a specific group.

“The incident is under investigation and we are always vigilant and aware of our surroundings. It’s another example the enemy is ever present,” he told Kurdistan 24.

He made sure to add, however, that America’s sprawling embassy complex is well-protected against threats. “The security measures at the US Embassy are first class and the best I’ve seen,” he said.

According to Mike Pregent, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute think tank, it’s most likely that Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are behind the attack.

“The Points of Origin are from an Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq stronghold in Baghdad,” he told Kurdistan 24. “It’s good to see the coalition calling IRGC-QF militias "terrorists" - if the term "terrorists" means ISIS, then the coalition is trying to downplay the attack and not say it was AAH.”

“Saying it was AAH destroys the narrative that PMU militias answer to Abadi - when we know AAH, Kata'ib Hezbollah, Badr, Kharakat Nujaba, and Kataib Imam Ali answer to Qassem Soleimani,” adding that the mortar attack was a ‘message to the US’.

On Tuesday, ten Iraqi Shia militia groups backed by Iran have warned Iraq to expel “foreign troops” and threatened to act against Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi over some of his latest decisions to take over control of the PMU. 

“We view the illegitimate presence of the foreign military inside Iraq with an angry eye,” a statement said, which claimed that the groups’ “patience has limits.”

“We will deal with them as occupying forces, and we will use our legitimate rights by using all possible means to force them out of the country,” the Shia militia factions warned, adding the foreign troops are in their sights.

They blamed an “Anglo-American-led dirty and dangerous conspiracy to impose a devilish coalition” on the people of Iraq and form a weak government that would receive "orders" from Brett McGurk, the US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to counter the Islamic State. 

Influential Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, whose coalition won the contested national elections in Iraq, said on Thursday that newly-sworn-in lawmakers must resume their inaugural session by Sunday in order to address the nation’s mounting crises.

Editing by John J. Catherine