Watch: Air Defenses Gun Down Inbound Rockets Over US' Baghdad Embassy
17:26 GMT 13.01.2022 (Updated: 16:43 GMT 08.01.2023)
© Nafiseh Kohnavard/TwitterC-RAM air defenses streak across the skies over Baghdad as they intercept rockets launched at the US embassy inside the Green Zone on January 13, 2022.
![C-RAM air defenses streak across the skies over Baghdad as they intercept rockets launched at the US embassy inside the Green Zone on January 13, 2022. C-RAM air defenses streak across the skies over Baghdad as they intercept rockets launched at the US embassy inside the Green Zone on January 13, 2022. - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.01.2022](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0d/1092239759_0:2:2556:1440_1920x0_80_0_0_4dad359c04470a40c40b87682ef268f5.png)
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Several inbound rockets were detected in the Green Zone on Thursday evening, where the US embassy in Baghdad is located.
At least two rockets were fired at the US embassy in central Baghdad, both of which were shot down without causing casualties or damage, according to Iraq military officials.
Footage posted online purported to capture the intercept. The video shows a C-RAM air defense system firing a blazing stream of bullets at the projectiles.
When two journalists decide to have a joint birthday dinner in Baghdad (my friend’s early one birthday & my late one)
— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) January 13, 2022
We didn’t expect some extra “fireworks”! pic.twitter.com/vL5RMY8UJy
Another video shows an explosion on the ground which seems to be caused by the rocket plummeting to the ground, challenging official reports that the attack caused not damage.
According to a report by OSINT Twitter account Aurora Intel, the rocket landed on Al Elaf School.
#BREAKING: missile attack on the #US embassy, Baghdad, #Iraq. pic.twitter.com/LDtyHShwl6
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) January 13, 2022
The heavily fortified Green Zone dates to the US occupation of Iraq in the 2000s, when US forces responsible for overthrown Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein faced a powerful domestic insurgency. While the vast majority of US troops have left Iraq, those that remain are a reminder of the powerful influence Washington continues to exert over Iraqi politics, and the embassy remains a favorite target for Iraqi militias angry at the US presence.