Tahrir Square in Baghdad on January 8, 2020. - Khalid Mohammed / AP / SIPA

While Washington seems unwilling to escalate with Iran, missiles continue to fall on Iraq without anyone knowing its origin. Two rockets fell on Wednesday evening in the green area of ​​Baghdad, where the American embassy is located, said an official of the security services.

The third attack in the area since Friday

Just before midnight, two explosions resonated in central Baghdad, 24 hours after 22 Iranian missiles were fired at bases housing American soldiers in Iraq. These explosions were followed by the howling of green zone security sirens. It is the third attack on the green zone since an American drone killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in the capital on Friday.

These attacks aim to avenge not only the death of General Soleimani, but also that which occurred at the same time of Commander Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis, number two of Hachd al-Chaabi, a coalition of Iraqi paramilitaries dominated by pro-Iran factions. The assassination of the latter, who occupied a high position in the state since the Hashd is part of the Iraqi regular forces, caused indignation in the country.

Hachd al-Chaabi threatens Americans

The attack on the green zone can therefore come from different actors. All eyes are on Iran as well as on Iraqi fighters. One of the leaders of Hashd al-Chaabi, Qaïs al-Khazali, indeed threatened on Wednesday Washington with a “response (…) no less important than the Iranian response”, after the Iranian shootings on bases used by the American army in Iraq. In addition, Qaïs al-Khazali, listed a few days ago on the list of "terrorists" by the United States, affirmed in a tweet that "the first Iranian response to the assassination of the martyred commander Soleimani" had "had location ". "The time has come for the first Iraqi response to the assassination of martyred commander Mouhandis," he added.

For his part, Noujaba, a component of Hashd and one of the most radical pro-Iran factions in Iraq, warned American soldiers: "Do not close your eyes because revenge for the martyr Mouhandis approach and it will be carried out by Iraqi hands until the departure of your last soldier ”. Even if the escalation seems to be going away between Washington and Tehran for the moment, the tension is still at its height in the region.

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