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Fri, Nov 15, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 13, 1446 | DXB
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US diplomatic facility attacked in Baghdad, no casualties
Iraq hosts 2,500 US troops and also has Iran-backed armed factions
- By
- Reuters
Security agents search private cars arriving at the Baghdad International Airport on August 17, 2024. — AFP
A United States diplomatic facility in Baghdad came under attack late on Tuesday but there are no reports of casualties and a damage assessment is underway, a US embassy spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.
Security sources said two rockets had fallen at around 11pm on Tuesday near US forces stationed near Baghdad airport at the Camp Victory base.
"At approximately 23.00 on Tuesday, September 10, there was an attack at the Baghdad Diplomatic Services Compound, a US diplomatic facility," the US embassy statement said.
"Fortunately, there are no reported casualties, and we are assessing the damage and its cause. Our assessment is ongoing," it said.
Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq's Iran-backed armed factions, said the timing of the attack was clearly designed to disrupt a visit to Iraq by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that began on Wednesday.
The group called on Iraqi security forces in a statement issued early on Wednesday to investigate the attack and to determine who was responsible.
Pezeshkian, on his first foreign trip since being elected in July, is expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements with Baghdad and to discuss the Gaza war and the wider situation in the Middle East with Iraqi leaders.
Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and Iran, hosts 2,500 US troops and also has Iran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces.
Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq have repeatedly attacked US troops in the Middle East since the Gaza war began.
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