2 rockets land in Baghdad's Green Zone; Iran-backed militias suspected
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Two rockets landed in Baghdad’s “Green Zone” Wednesday night, likely fired by Iran-backed militia groups.
The rockets exploded in the perimeter of the U.S. Embassy but did not strike the compound. No casualties have been reported, according to Fox News’ Trey Yingst.
Just before midnight local time, two explosions and warning sirens could be heard throughout Baghdad.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The attacks come amid hostilities between Washington and Tehran, which have left Iraq caught in the crossfire. On Friday, President Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian military Gen. Qassem Soleimani at an airport in Baghdad. The U.S. said Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops and was planning future attacks.
"It's important to differentiate for our viewers, though, the difference between the rockets that we saw tonight and the rockets that we saw last night," Yingst said. "There were ballistic missiles fired from Iran, 15 of them, into Iraqi territory."
"The rockets that we saw tonight, they're not missiles, they're fired by militia groups," he noted. "It's a much smaller type of attack, but still an attack none the less that could threaten U.S. forces."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Iran launched 15 ballistic missiles into Iraq early Wednesday local time, aimed at military bases housing U.S. troops. No U.S. casualties resulted from the attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the attacks were “proportionate measures in self-defense.”
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“We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression,” Zarif tweeted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wednesday's attacks were not directly linked to the Iranian government, but the militia receives direction and funding from the Iranian regime.
"Sometimes you'll see Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, or you'll hear the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, say that they can or can't control the actions of these militias operating in Iran and Iraq, but the reality on the ground is that most of what happens here is somehow linked to Iran," Yingst said.