Rocket hits Green Zone, US Embassy in Iraq: ‘We’re still assessing the damage’

Rocket hits Green Zone, US Embassy in Iraq: ‘We’re still assessing the damage’
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January 13th, 2022 | ABC News Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Embassy and other parts of the Green Zone in Baghdad were attacked by “terrorist groups” Thursday, according to the embassy.

“The U.S. Embassy compound was attacked this evening by terrorist groups attempting to undermine Iraq’s security, sovereignty and international relations,” the embassy said in a tweet. “We have long said that these sorts of reprehensible attacks are an assault not just on diplomatic facilities, but on the sovereignty of Iraq itself.”

This is the latest rocket or drone attack on the U.S. presence in Iraq and neighboring Syria in recent weeks, though so far none have caused any American casualties.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Iran-backed militias have conducted previous attacks, including last Thursday, calling them retribution for the U.S. strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani two years ago this month.

Security sources told ABC News that three rockets were fired from the Dora area, south of Baghdad. Two were intercepted, and one landed inside a school in the Green Zone, causing damage and injuring a woman and a girl.

“In a cowardly terrorist act, the innocent residents of the Green Zone in Baghdad and the headquarters of the diplomatic missions that the Iraqi security forces bear the responsibility of protecting were attacked by a number of missiles launched from the Dora area south of the capital, which led to the injury of a girl and a woman,” the Iraqi government said.

The Green Zone is a heavily fortified area of Iraq that is home to various governmental buildings as well as several foreign embassies.

“We’re still assessing the damage,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. “We’re still assessing the health and safety of our people.”

ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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