According to the mission, a barrage of rockets was fired early on Friday toward the US embassy located in the tightly guarded Green Zone of Baghdad. This was not the first time that such attacks had occurred during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“A multi-rocket attack was launched at US and Coalition forces in the vicinity of Union III and the Baghdad embassy complex” without causing any reported casualties or damage, a US official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Leading a multinational coalition against Islamists in neighboring Syria and Iraq, the United States has recently seen a number of attacks on its personnel.
Five more strikes against US and partner soldiers were attempted on Friday.
According to an unnamed US military official, there were two drone or rocket attacks against the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and three targets in Syria, but “no casualties and no damage” were reported.
The strikes occur against the backdrop of the more than two-month-long conflict in Gaza between US ally Israel and the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, which is backed by Iran.
The United States “strongly” condemned the attacks and called on Iraq to bring the perpetrators to justice, the State Department said in a statement.
“The many Iran-aligned militias that operate freely in Iraq threaten the security and stability of Iraq, our personnel, and our partners in the region,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in the statement.
The US embassy said “two salvoes of rockets” were fired at the mission compound in Baghdad at around 4:15 am (0115 GMT).
“Indications are the attacks were initiated by Iran-aligned militias,” said a US spokesperson.
“The Iraqi government has repeatedly committed to protect diplomatic missions as well as US military personnel, who are present in the country at Iraq’s invitation,” Miller said.
“This is non-negotiable, as is our right to self-defense.”
