Rocket blasts heard near Baghdad’s Green Zone, US helicopters seen over area – reports

Multiple rockets are believed to have been fired into the heavily-fortified Green Zone in Iraq’s capital city, according to local media, with US Apache helicopters reportedly scrambled in the area following the blasts.

Up to four Katyusha rockets landed in or near the Green Zone early on Thursday morning, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya reported. Citing local sources, the outlet also noted that helicopters were seen in the airspace over the zone, which houses US and other diplomatic facilities. Other unconfirmed reports also suggested four rockets were fired in the attack, and that the aircraft seen were American Apaches.

Photos purporting to show the rocket launch site have circulated on social media, with one local reporter stating the projectiles were fired from Baghdad’s Al-Rashid district adjacent to the Green Zone, citing Iraqi security forces.

If confirmed, the strikes would be the latest in a series of similar attacks in recent weeks, often targeting the Green Zone, the US Embassy or American military installations elsewhere in Iraq. No group has taken responsibility for the latest reported incident.

The attack would also come soon after Washington and Baghdad’s latest round of strategic dialogue earlier this month, which largely centered on the future of US troops still stationed in the country. In January, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel American forces soon after the US assassination of Iranian Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani and a top Iraqi militia leader, while armed Shia groups, many with ties to Tehran, have also repeatedly called for a full withdrawal.

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