More On: US Embassy in Baghdad
United States Reduces Military Presence in Iraq and Afghanistan
US Embassy in Baghdad hit by rocket fire
The United States Embassy in Baghdad was targeted by rocket fire. This attack, which resulted in the death of a young girl, ends the truce with pro-Iran Iraqi factions decreed a month earlier.
A deadly bombardment. Seven rockets were fired on Tuesday evening in the direction of the United States Embassy in Baghdad (Iraq). They were launched from a district in the east of the city. The army said that four projectiles actually fell in the Green Zone where this chancellery is located, while three others fell in neighborhoods of the capital, killing a girl and injuring five civilians. According to AFP, the US C-RAM rocket defense system has kicked in. For long seconds, strong explosions made the capital tremble, the sky illuminating with luminous flashes.
A gradual withdrawal of American troops
This attack occurs in a very specific context. On the same day, the new acting US Minister of Defense, Christopher Miller, announced that the United States would withdraw 500 of its troops in Iraq, leaving only 2,500 in the country. The attack also took place just two hours after a telephone interview between Iraqi Prime Minister Moustafa al-Kazimi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during which the two men discussed "the future of cooperation between l 'Iraq and the international coalition' deployed in 2014. This coordinated operation marked the return of American soldiers to Iraqi soil, a first since their withdrawal in 2011.
End of the truce with pro-Iran factions
In the space of a year, nearly 90 bombings targeting the United States embassy or certain military bases housing American soldiers were carried out. They have regularly been claimed by small groups with unknown names. According to Washington, it is in fact the brigades of the radical Hezbollah who are pulling the strings. Pro-Iran factions in Iraq finally announced in mid-October that they would no longer attack the US embassy provided the US announces the withdrawal of all its troops from the country by the end of the year. A fragile truce had then been concluded in a climate of acute diplomatic tensions. In view of the latest events, it should be shattered.
