Rockets targeting US embassy injure two (VIDEOS)

Two civilians were injured during a rocket attack that targeted the US embassy inside Baghdad’s ‘Green Zone,’ the Iraqi military told reporters. At least four missiles were launched, and one reportedly struck a nearby school.

Videos from Baghdad shared on Thursday evening local time showed red tracer rounds lighting up the skies above the city, as C-RAM point-defense guns mounted inside the US embassy tried to intercept the rockets. 

Three missiles struck within the US embassy perimeter, while one hit a school in the nearby residential complex, AP reported citing unnamed Iraqi military officials. A woman and a girl were reportedly injured in that strike. No further details were provided.

The rockets were reportedly launched from the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, the Iraqi military said. While the attackers have not been identified, the US has blamed Shia militias – allegedly backed by Iran – for attacks on American military and diplomatic targets in the country.

Another rocket attack last Thursday targeted military bases hosting US troops in both Baghdad and the Anbar province in western Iraq. It coincided with the second anniversary of Iran launching a barrage of missiles at US bases in Iraq in reprisal for the January 2020 drone assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

There are around 2,500 troops belonging to the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) still in Iraq, officially in a purely advisory capacity, their combat mission against IS having ended in December.