Kurdistan Region ‘condemns’ attack on US Embassy in Baghdad: statement

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region condemned attacks on the US embassy in Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Sunday night after the diplomatic installation came under a volley of rocket attacks that resulted in material damages, according to a statement from the autonomous region’s presidency office.

“We condemn the rocket attack on the Embassy of the United States in Baghdad,” a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency read, warning that such attacks “endanger relations with the international community.”

According to security forces, at least three rockets landed near the US embassy inside Baghdad’s highly-fortified Green Zone, while two others hit the zone’s residential areas, causing material damages, but no causalities.

Read More: Three rockets hit Baghdad’s Green Zone amid heightened tensions in Iraq

The latest rocket attacks on the US diplomatic missions come ahead of the first anniversary of the death of top Iranian military general Qassim Soleimani and senior Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) leader Abu Mahdi Mohandis. Both were killed in early January 2019 by a US drone strike in Baghdad.

The targeting of US military and diplomatic installations in Iraq is not a new phenomenon. America’s headquarters inside Iraq have been attacked before, particularly during heightened tensions with Iran.

“As hosts, it is the duty of the Iraqi government to maintain the security of diplomatic missions and protect its staff,” the Kurdish presidency said in its statement, and “it is the responsibility of the host country to bring perpetrators to appropriate justice.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany