Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
As US Plans Troop Withdrawal, Rockets Strike Baghdad Green Zone
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
November 17, 2020

Share

BAGHDAD — Rockets struck Iraq’s capital Tuesday with four landing inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, Iraq’s military said, killing a child and wounding at least five people, signaling an end to an informal truce announced by Iran-backed militias in October.

Two Iraqi security officials said one of the rockets that hit the Green Zone struck close to Iraq’s National Security Service, just 600 meters (2,000 feet) from the American Embassy. Some of the rockets were intercepted by the C-RAM air defense system installed by the U.S. earlier this year, they said.

Iraq’s military said three rockets landed outside the Green Zone, one hitting close to Baghdad Medical City hospital, one at the gate of a public park, and a third exploded in the air. One child was killed and five civilians were wounded, the military statement said.

Officials said two Iraqi security forces personnel were also wounded inside the Green Zone. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The military said the incident would not go without “prosecution and accountability.”

U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 and left in 2011 but returned in 2014 after the Islamic State group overran large parts of Iraq.

Frequent attacks targeting the U.S. Embassy and vehicles transporting equipment for U.S. troops have led Washington to threaten to close its Baghdad diplomatic mission and sparked a diplomatic crisis prior to the U.S. presidential election.

The attack comes after a recent announcement by the Pentagon that it would reduce troop levels in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500.

In mid-October, Iran-backed, mostly Shiite, militia groups said they would temporarily halt attacks targeting the American presence in Iraq, including the embassy. That came with the condition that U.S.-led coalition troops withdraw from the country in line with a non-binding resolution passed in the Iraqi Parliament in January.

The resolution was passed by mostly Shiite lawmakers and urged the government to take action and expel U.S.-led coalition troops from the country.

The resolution followed the Washington-directed airstrike that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, outside Baghdad airport.

U.S. officials, supportive of withdrawals in principle, have insisted they take place based on a scheduled timeline. Most Iraqi government officials agree with a gradual drawdown and face pressure from Iran-aligned groups who prefer an immediate exit.

A planned drawdown has been underway in Iraq for months, with coalition troops withdrawing from several Iraqi bases.

Iraqi forces have increasingly been conducting anti-Islamic State operations without U.S. assistance, triggering the coalition to begin a scheduled drawdown in March that was conceived late last year. Assistance has become increasingly limited to high-level capabilities that Iraqi security forces lack, such as surveillance and air support.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Dodgers Ace Walker Buehler Expected to Return From Tommy John Surgery on Monday

DON'T MISS

Winter Weather in May in Fresno? It’s ‘Definitely Weird’

DON'T MISS

Liar, Liar: Potential Trump VP Pick Noem’s Claims Are on Fire

DON'T MISS

What Did State Supreme Court Decide on Defamation Suit Against Assemblymember Soria?

DON'T MISS

Two Months to Count Election Ballots? California’s Long Tallies Turn Election Day Into Weeks, Months

DON'T MISS

Pennsylvania Nurse Who Gave Patients Lethal or Possibly Lethal Insulin Doses Gets Life in Prison

DON'T MISS

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

DON'T MISS

US Employers Scaled Back Hiring in April. How That Could Let the Fed Cut Interest Rates

DON'T MISS

Bulldog Football Outlook: More Explosive Offense, a Potential Game-Wrecker on Defense

DON'T MISS

Over 2,300 Arrested in Pro-Palestinian Protests

UP NEXT

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

UP NEXT

Hamas Is Sending a Delegation to Egypt for Further Cease-Fire Talks in the Latest Sign of Progress

UP NEXT

US Airstrike Targeting Al-Qaida Leader in Syria Killed a Farmer, American Military Says

UP NEXT

Another State Department Official Resigns Over Biden’s Gaza Policy

UP NEXT

Senators Want Limits on Government’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology for Airport Screening

UP NEXT

Biden Says ‘Order Must Prevail’ on Campuses, but He Won’t Send National Guard

UP NEXT

Police Dismantle UCLA Tent Camp, Take Pro-Palestinian Protesters Into Custody

UP NEXT

Fresno State’s Randa Jarrar Dragged Out of Event Featuring Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik

UP NEXT

Trump Calls Judge ‘Crooked’ After Facing a Warning of Jail Time if He Violates a Trial Gag Order

UP NEXT

Biden’s Historic Marijuana Shift Is His Latest Election Year Move for Young Voters

What Did State Supreme Court Decide on Defamation Suit Against Assemblymember Soria?

53 mins ago

Two Months to Count Election Ballots? California’s Long Tallies Turn Election Day Into Weeks, Months

2 hours ago

Pennsylvania Nurse Who Gave Patients Lethal or Possibly Lethal Insulin Doses Gets Life in Prison

2 hours ago

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

3 hours ago

US Employers Scaled Back Hiring in April. How That Could Let the Fed Cut Interest Rates

3 hours ago

Bulldog Football Outlook: More Explosive Offense, a Potential Game-Wrecker on Defense

3 hours ago

Over 2,300 Arrested in Pro-Palestinian Protests

4 hours ago

See How Valley Lawmakers Voted on a Bill That Chills Free Speech

6 hours ago

Meet Goldie Hawn: The Adorable Yorkie with a Heart of Gold

7 hours ago

Police Investigating Possible Vandalism at Jewish Temple, Catholic Church

17 hours ago

Dodgers Ace Walker Buehler Expected to Return From Tommy John Surgery on Monday

PHOENIX — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is expected to make his return to the big leagues on Monday after missing nearly two fu...

5 mins ago

Photo of Walker Beuhler
5 mins ago

Dodgers Ace Walker Buehler Expected to Return From Tommy John Surgery on Monday

Photo of red umbrella and rain
Weather /
10 mins ago

Winter Weather in May in Fresno? It’s ‘Definitely Weird’

32 mins ago

Liar, Liar: Potential Trump VP Pick Noem’s Claims Are on Fire

53 mins ago

What Did State Supreme Court Decide on Defamation Suit Against Assemblymember Soria?

2 hours ago

Two Months to Count Election Ballots? California’s Long Tallies Turn Election Day Into Weeks, Months

2 hours ago

Pennsylvania Nurse Who Gave Patients Lethal or Possibly Lethal Insulin Doses Gets Life in Prison

3 hours ago

Merced’s Treacherous ‘Tunnel Lane’ Removed from Northbound Highway 99

3 hours ago

US Employers Scaled Back Hiring in April. How That Could Let the Fed Cut Interest Rates

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend