BAGHDAD — A rocket attack on the sprawling US Embassy in Baghdad caused minor damage but no casualties on Friday morning, Dec. 8, 2023, US and Iraqi officials said.
The attack was the first on the embassy located in the heavily fortified Green Zone of Iraq’s capital to be confirmed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, triggered by the deadly attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militants from Gaza.
The Green Zone houses Iraqi government buildings and foreign embassies on the west bank of the Tigris River.
Friday’s assault was followed by drone and multi-rocket attacks, including on al-Asad air base in western Iraq and three troop locations in Syria, also with no casualties, US officials said.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks that targeted bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war erupted two months ago. The U.S. military says 78 attacks have been carried out against US facilities over the past weeks, of which 43 were in Iraq and 41 in Syria.
An Iraqi security official said 14 Katyusha rockets were fired Friday, of which some struck near one of the US Embassy’s gates while others fell in the river.
A US military official said a multi-rocket attack was launched at American and coalition forces in the vicinity of the embassy complex and the Union III base, which houses offices of the US-led coalition. The official added that no casualties and no damage to infrastructure were reported.