Rockets land in Baghdad's Green Zone, near US embassy

Baghdad: Rockets landed in and around the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi Capital Baghdad, which houses the US Embassy, causing material damage early Thursday, Iraqi security forces said.

Two Katuysha rockets fell near the national security building, and in an open courtyard inside the Green Zone. A third rocket fell in a nearby residential area, damaging a civilian vehicle, the statement by the Iraqi security media cell said.

The attack which came shortly before daybreak followed two separate attacks on bases housing US troops in western Iraq and across the border in Syria, where US-led coalition forces are based. The drone attack Wednesday in eastern Syria was foiled while 14 rockets landed in Al-Assad Air Base in western Iraq, lightly wounding two personnel.

The attacks come as tension is on the rise between US troops and Iran-backed fighters as Baghdad and Washington



negotiate a timeline for foreign troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The US has blamed Iran-backed militias for attacks - most of them rocket strikes - that have targeted the American presence in Baghdad and military bases across Iraq. More recently, the attacks have become more sophisticated, with militants using drones.

Late last month, US warplanes hit facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups which the Pentagon said support drone strikes inside Iraq. Four Iraqi fighters were killed in the June 27 airstrikes.

A previously unknown group claimed responsibility for the Wednesday attack on Al-Assad Air Base, saying it was a message to US troops in Iraq: “We will force you to leave our lands defeated.”

A drone attack on Tuesday was reported on Irbil airport in the northern Kurdish-run region, near where US forces are based.