Rocket attack hits US embassy

BAGHDAD: At least eight Katyusha rockets landed in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone in an attack targeting the US Embassy, causing some minor damage on the compound on Sunday, the Iraqi military and the embassy said. The Iraqi military said an “outlaw group” fired eight rockets. Most of the missiles hit a residential complex and a security checkpoint inside the zone, damaging buildings and cars and wounding one Iraqi soldier, a military statement said. Sirens blared from the embassy compound inside the zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions. An anti-rocket system diverted one of the rockets, said one security official whose office is inside the Green Zone. The US Embassy condemned the attack and urged all Iraqi political and governmental leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and to hold accountable those responsible. “The US Embassy confirms rockets targeting the International Zone resulted in the engagement of Embassy defensive systems. There was some minor damage on the Embassy compound but no injuries or casualties,” it said in a statement. In a subsequent statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there had been at least one Iraqi civilian casualty and wished those hurt a speedy recovery. US officials blamed militia for regular rocket attacks on US facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy in Baghdad. No known groups have claimed responsibility. Pompeo called such militias the most serious impediment to peace and prosperity in Iraq, and added: “We call on all Iraqis to support their government’s efforts to reinforce Iraq’s sovereignty, to bring to justice those responsible for these reprehensible attacks and ensure that all the militias are under state control.” A spokesman for the Iraqi president also condemned the attack. — Reuters