Dual rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone: Military
Two Katyusha rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone on late Sunday without causing any damage, a top security source announced.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two Katyusha rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone on late Sunday without causing any damage, a top security source announced.
The fresh rocket attacks come as Iraq faces a diplomatic crisis as a result of continued attacks on the diplomatic missions it hosts in the country due to constant missile and rocket assaults.
“Terrorist groups” fired two Katyusha rockets toward the al-Jadriya neighborhood, Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced on early Monday.
The attacks did not cause any civilian causalities, the source noted.
The “terrorist criminal groups once again targeted Iraqi citizens with a rocket attack,” the official spokesperson for the international coalition against the Islamic State said following the attack.
@SecMedCell reports terrorist criminal groups once again targeted Iraqi citizens with rocket attack this morning at approximately 1:30 am in Baghdad. https://t.co/YREAzGwBIM
— OIR Spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto (@OIRSpox) October 5, 2020
Continued rocket attacks on the diplomatic missions inside the Green Zone have recently sparked anger in Washington over the Iraqi government’s inability to provide a safe atmosphere for its diplomatic corps.
However, no entity has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Similar attacks are usually blamed on Iranian-backed Shia militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) by Washington and most international observers.
The US, according to informed reports, would close down its Baghdad embassy unless the Iraqi government takes effective measures to protect its diplomatic facility.
Read More: US warns Iraq on Iranian-backed militias
The Green Zone, or International Zone, is a fortified area inside the Iraqi capital Baghdad that hosts several foreign diplomatic representatives and elite government institutions such as the parliament.
The Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil recently came under similar rocket attacks that were aimed at its international airport where US-led coalition forces are stationed. The rockets did not cause any damage or civilian casualties, the coalition’s spokesperson announced following the attack, as they landed in a remote area.
Read More: Kurdistan Region condemns rocket attack near Erbil airport, blames Iran-backed militias
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, during a press conference, asked the US to avert its decision to close its Baghdad embassy as it results in consequences for Iraq.
In late September, a Katyusha missile hit a house near Baghdad International Airport, killing five Iraqis and injuring another two. All casualties were women or children.
Read More: Rocket attack hits house near Baghdad airport, killing five Iraqis
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
