Several rockets were fired at Baghdad’s Green Zone—where the U.S. Embassy is located—on Friday morning, according to reports, amid a recent increase in the number of attacks against American facilities in Iraq and Syria.
“We again call on the Government of Iraq, as we have done on many occasions, to do all in its power to protect diplomatic and Coalition partner personnel and facilities,” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson told Reuters.
U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have faced more than 70 attacks since October 17, Reuters reported. A majority of these attacks have been linked to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. According to the AIPAC-linked Washington Institute, the group’s name is an “umbrella term used to describe the operations of all Iran-backed militias in Iraq.” The Pentagon has retaliated against these attacks by carrying out airstrikes on facilities used by the militants and has promised even more if the attacks don’t stop.
The group has said the attacks are in response to the U.S. government’s support for Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza following a terror attack by Hamas in October. U.S. officials on the other hand have drawn a line between the Gaza conflict and its retaliatory strikes in Syria, saying the two were “separate and distinct.” Washington has urged all players in the region to avoid escalating the Israel-Hamas war into a wider conflict.
Source : Forbes