On Thursday, January 13th, 2022, terrorist groups launched into Baghdad’s International Zone. The attack wounded a woman and a child. The rockets that terrorists launched hit the U.S. Embassy, according to officials at the embassy and the Iraqi military.
An official at the embassy commented that the attack was carried out by terrorists, “Attempting to undermine Iraq’s security, sovereignty, and international relations.” An Iraqi military official stated that the attack targeted the innocent resident that reside in Baghdad and the diplomatic mission’s headquarters. The missiles launch site is in the Dora neighborhood in the city’s southern section. The embassy official added that the attacks aren’t only an assault on diplomatic facilities in Baghdad but an assault on the security of the region.
The Green or International Zone in Baghdad, is a 3.9-mile area in Baghdad’s Karkh District. The area served as the headquarters for regimes that governed Iraq prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion when the transitional government, the Coalition Provisional Authority, was established. The area was known as the International Zone under the Iraqi interim government. Today, the region of the city houses a number of offices of the Iraqi government and international embassies. Iraqi security forces have undertaken an investigation of the incident.
The President of Iraq, Bahram Salih, denounced the attacks, citing the terroristic nature of the attacks and the harm to Iraq’s status in the international community and Iraq’s interests. The rocket attack in the Baghdad neighborhood on Thursday was the latest in a series of attacks against U.S. personnel. Several attacks have been launched against U.S. personnel in the Middle East in the last several weeks. On January 5th, terrorists launched attacks against U.S. military bases in Syria and Iraq. There were no U.S. casualties.
Following last week’s attack on the U.S. base located in the eastern part of Syria near the border with Iraq, U.S.led forces fired back at the militia that was believed to be behind the attack. The militia group has the backing of Iran. It’s uncertain what was behind the attacks last week, but officials think it may have been to coincide with the second anniversary of Qasem Soleimani’s assassination.
John Kirby, the press secretary for the Pentagon, said that it’s challenging to know what’s behind the most recent attacks but believes it could be related to the anniversary of the strikes against Soleimani. He concluded that the frequency of the strikes could be related to the changes to the mission in Iraq.
The Iraqi cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr is in agreement with the sentiment expressed by President Salih when he stated that the terrorist acts are a hindrance to the interests of Iraq and damages the country’s reputation with the international community.
