Three rockets have struck the US embassy in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, with one hitting its restaurant, Al Arabiya reported on Sunday citing AFP.
Iraq's Al Sumaria TV reported, citing a security source, that there were several casualties resulting from the attack and that helicopters were working to evacuate those inside the embassy and on its territory.
US aircraft were spotted flying over the scene and then landing inside the embassy compound, the agency added.
Baghdad's "green zone", where the US embassy is currently located, has recently been the target of several attacks. The latest one occurred just earlier in the day when three Katyusha rockets fell near the American embassy, Al Sumaria TV reported, with no casualties confirmed so far.
#BREAKING up to 5 Katyusha rockets landing either close to US embassy or Green Zone area in Baghdad, Iraq pic.twitter.com/k6jibmyT9z
— Yosef Yisrael (@yosefyisrael25) January 26, 2020
#BREAKING
— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) January 26, 2020
Jan 26 - Baghdad, #Iraq
At least four rockets (possibly Katyusha) land the Green Zone, one near the U.S. Embassy. pic.twitter.com/zwtWeFKmFp
Commenting on the events, Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Mohammed Al-Halbousi, said that the repeated strikes targeting the US embassy in central Baghdad are "unacceptable" and that they "do damage to Iraq's reputation, weaken the country and affect its sovereignty".
On 22 January, three missiles also hit the "green zone" in the Iraqi capital, no one was injured.
Tensions escalated in the region after Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in the US targeted attack on the International Airport in Baghdad. Following Soleimani's assassination, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel all coalition forces.
Back in late 2017, the Iraqi government declared victory over Daesh*, which the country had been fighting for over three years. However, the international coalition, established against the terrorist group in 2014, has remained in Iraq in what it says is an effort to secure Iraq's borders and ensure a lasting victory over the terrorists.
US officials have repeatedly ruled out a complete pullback of American forces from Iraq. White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien has said the US would leave "on its own terms".
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states
