Katyusha rocket hits Baghdad’s Green Zone
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Katyusha rocket landed in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on Monday night, causing no causalities, according to the Iraqi Security Media Cell.
The Green Zone is home to the United States Embassy and other foreign diplomatic missions. The zone has been a hotspot for missile attacks lately by unknown forces. The attack also comes as Iraq faces a renewed security challenge at the hands of the so-called Islamic State following its territorial defeat in 2017.
“A Katyusha rocket hit an empty house inside the Green Zone in Baghdad causing minor physical damages,” Iraq’s Security Media Cell wrote on Twitter.
According to the media’s intelligence, the missile was launched from the al-Idrisi neighborhood in Baghdad’s Palestine Street.
In a statement, Iraqi lawmaker Hassan al-Mar’abi revealed the targeted house belongs to him, adding that “the missile was launched and directed at the British Embassy.”
Meanwhile, the rocket landed “far-away” from the United Kingdom and American embassies, a source told Kurdistan 24 without further elaboration.
However, there are conflicting reports about the intention of the attack.
So far, no entity has claimed responsibility.
The raising of the LGBTQ+ flag on International Day against Homophobia in Baghdad by various diplomatic missions, including the UK, the European Union, Canada, and the World Bank in the Green Zone, had caused outrage among Iraqi officials.
A leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) called for the “expulsion” of the missions in Iraq as the act is not consistent with Iraq’s “norms and values”
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In response to the resurgence of the Islamic State, Iraqi security forces have launched a series of operations in the country’s central provinces to hunt the remnants of the terror group.
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Editing by Karzan Sulaivany