In the late hours of 22 February, Iraqi security sources state that at least two rockets have landed in the Green Zone of Baghdad near the area of the US Embassy. While no injuries or casualties have been reported thus far, surrounding residential areas have felt the impact of the blasts with reports coming that some cars have caught alight, resulting in smoke emerging from the impact areas.
The Green Zone is an area of the Iraqi capital that hosts government buildings as well as foreign embassies which is regularly hit by rockets from groups or factions that the US and Iraq consider to be backed by Iran: an allegation that Tehran constantly denies.
Today’s rocket attack is the third to have taken place in the country in the past few days, where coalition military outposts were targeted in Baghdad and Erbil. Last week, an Iraqi contractor was killed following a rocket strike in a coalition military base in Erbil International Airport. Responsibility for the attack was taken by a Shia military group called Saraya Awliya al-Dam, which announced that new strikes will come against US occupation forces in the country.
