US Embassy in Iraq
A heliport located inside the United States (US) embassy complex in the capital Baghdad was hit by a missile today, two leaders of the Iraqi security forces said.
Images from the Associated Press news agency show a column of smoke rising above the embassy complex, which has so far made no public comment.
The complex, one of the largest US diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeated targeting of rockets and drones fired by Iranian-aligned militias.
On Friday, the embassy renewed the Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Tehran-aligned militia groups have already carried out attacks against citizensUS interests and infrastructure and “may continue to attack them”.
A leader of the Iraqi security forces told the France-Presse news agency (AFP) that a drone attack had hit the US embassy.
“A drone hit the embassy“, said the person responsible. A second leader confirmed the attack.
The attack comes after a series of attacks against Hezbollah Brigades, which carried out two dead in Iraqi capitalincluding an “important leader” of the influential pro-Iran armed group, also according to security forces sources.
The sources did not disclose the identities of the two fatal victims, and the Hezbollah Brigades — designated as a terrorist group by the US — have not yet made any public statement.
Shortly after 02:00 (23:00 on Friday in Lisbon), in the upscale neighborhood of Arassat, where pro-Iran armed factions are based, a missile attack hit a house used as headquarters of the Hezbollah Brigades, a security official told AFP.
“A prominent figure was killed” and two other people were injured in the attack, according to the same source.
AFP journalists heard loud explosions before the sound of ambulance sirens. Witnesses reported seeing white smoke rising from the neighborhood.
Two hours later, an airstrike struck a vehicle near a bridge in eastern Baghdad, killing one person, according to two other security sources.
The deceased was also member of the Hezbollah Brigadesaccording to an official from the Popular Mobilization Forces.
This coalition of former paramilitaries, integrated into regular Iraqi forces, includes pro-Iran armed groups, such as the Hezbollah Brigades, which have a reputation for operate independently.
Hezbollah Brigades are also part of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq“, a pro-Iran network that has claimed daily, since the beginning of the war, responsibility for dozens of drone and rocket attacks against bases housing US soldiers in Iraq and the Middle East.
Iraq is caught in the crossfire of the war with Iran, being the only country to face attacks from both sides.
In retaliation for the military offensive of large scale launched by the United States and Israel On February 28, Iran restricted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and launched attacks against targets in Israel, US bases and other infrastructure in countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and Iraq.
Incidents with Iranian projectiles were also recorded in Cyprus, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
