Two attacks targeted almost simultaneously, early Saturday evening, January 4, the ultra-secure Baghdad Green Zone and an Iraqi air base sheltering American soldiers north of the capital, according to security officials.
The Baghdad Green Zone, home to the US Embassy, which was attacked on Tuesday by thousands of pro-Iran fighters and supporters in Iraq, was hit by two mortar shells.
Less than a hundred kilometers further north, at the same time, two Katyusha rockets hit the Balad air base. This huge Iraqi base hosts American soldiers and planes, said security sources on the spot.
According to the Iraqi military command, there were no casualties in the two attacks. Attacks occurred when a crowd of Iraqis gathered for the funeral of powerful General Qassem Soleimani, murdered on Friday, on the orders of US President Donald Trump, in a drone strike.
Since then, the United States has deployed additional soldiers to protect its diplomats and soldiers in Iraq, where anti-American sentiment, fueled by pro-Iranians, has soared.
Calls for "revenge"
After the shooting on Saturday evening, American drones flew over the base for reconnaissance missions, added the security sources.
Following the death of General Suleimani, calls for "revenge" are increasing in Baghdad as in Tehran, while the Americans have for several months already considered that the pro-Iran armed factions in Iraq are a more dangerous threat for them than the jihadists of the Islamic State organization.
Since the end of October, thirteen rocket attacks have targeted American interests in Iraq, even killing, on October 27, an American subcontractor on a base in the country's oil center.
None have been claimed, but Washington accuses the pro-Iran factions of Hachd al-Chaabi - a coalition of state-integrated paramilitaries - of being responsible.
With AFP
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