Missile Attack on U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Loud Explosions

Darwin, 14 March: A missile attack targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, on Saturday. The incident occurred shortly after two members of the Iran-backed powerful armed group Kataib Hezbollah were killed. It is still unclear who carried out the attack and how many casualties there were. However, reports indicate that the air defense system was damaged.

According to the AFP news agency, citing sources from Iraq’s security forces, the attack took place amid rising tensions. Iraq has long been used as a proxy battlefield in the conflict between the United States and Iran. After the February 28 strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel, Iraq has once again become a central point in the Middle Eastern conflict.

An AFP journalist reported that shortly after the sound of explosions on Saturday morning, plumes of smoke were seen rising above the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.

Two Iraqi security officials, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the embassy complex was targeted, but the exact cause of the attack is still unclear. One security source said the embassy was struck by a drone attack, while another suggested that a rocket or projectile landed on the compound.

AFP said it could not immediately confirm the exact details of the attack. Since the start of the Iran conflict, this is the second time the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has come under attack.

Several Tehran-backed groups, which the United States has designated as “terrorist organizations,” have claimed responsibility for drone and rocket attacks on U.S. bases in the region under the name “Islamic Resistance.”

Since the war began, most of the attacks targeting members of these groups across Iraq have been blamed on the United States and Israel.

Earlier on Saturday, two members of Kataib Hezbollah were killed. Security sources said that around 2:15 a.m., a missile struck a house used by the group, killing one member and injuring two others.