Iraq: Two Mortar Rounds Hit Baghdad's Green Zone, Two Rockets Slam Into Base Housing US Troops: Reports
Two rockets on Saturday hit Iraq''s Al-Balad air base, where US troops are stationed, while two mortars hit Baghdad''s Green Zone, a high-security enclave housing the US embassy
Baghdad, January 4: Two mortar rounds hit the Iraqi capital's Green Zone Saturday and two rockets slammed into a base housing US troops, security sources said, a day after a deadly American strike. The precision drone strike outside the Baghdad airport on Friday killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, top Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and a clutch of other Iranian and Iraqi figures. 'US Strike' Killed Top Iran, Iraq Commanders at Baghdad Airport: Hashed Military Force.
In Baghdad, mortar rounds on Saturday evening hit the Green Zone, the high-security enclave where the US embassy is based, security sources said. The Iraqi military said that one projectile hit inside the zone, while another landed close to the enclave. Sirens rang out at the US compound, sources there told AFP.
A pair of Katyusha rockets then hit the Balad airbase north of Baghdad, where American troops are based, security sources and the Iraqi military said. Security sources there reported blaring sirens and said surveillance drones were sent above the base to locate the source of the rockets.The US embassy in Baghdad as well as the 5,200 American troops stationed across the country have faced a spate of rocket attacks in recent months that Washington has blamed on Iran and its allies in Iraq. Donald Trump Sends Veiled Truce Offer to Iran After Qassem Soleimani's Killing: '...Never Won a War, But Never Lost a Negotiation'.
One attack last month killed a US contractor working in northern Iraq, prompting retaliatory American air strikes that killed 25 hardline fighters close to Iran. Tensions boiled over on Friday when the US struck Soleimani's convoy as it drove out of the airport and US diplomats and troops across Iraq had been bracing themselves for more rocket attacks.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 04, 2020 11:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).