US embassy in Baghdad hit in Katyusha rocket attack

[WASHINGTON] Five Katyusha rockets were fired at the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad Sunday night, targeting the US embassy compound there, Iraq's security forces reported.

No injuries were reported but one of the rockets directly hit the embassy building itself.

Attacks against the Green Zone and the US embassy in Baghdad by Iran-linked militia groups have increased in recent months, especially after the US airstrike earlier this month that killed Iran's top commander Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the head of Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Outgoing Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi condemned the attack, vowing to protect the diplomatic missions in the country.

"These acts may drag the country into a battlefield, especially at a time when we started to implement the decision to withdraw foreign troops from Iraq," he said in a statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

BLOOMBERG