Two Rockets Strike Baghdad’s Fortified Green Zone: Report

According to the agency, security officers have begun an inquiry to locate the launch location.

Hundreds of rocket launches and drone bomb attacks have struck US soldiers and interests in Iraq in recent months. (Source: AFP)

New Delhi: Two Katyusha rockets were fired at Baghdad's guarded Green Zone early Sunday, according to Iraq's state news agency, which cited security personnel.

The C-RAM defensive system destroyed one rocket in the air, while the other fell near the zone's events arena, destroying two automobiles, according to the report. There were no reports of casualties right away, Reuters reported.

According to the agency, security officers have begun an inquiry to locate the launch location.

The Green Zone is home to international embassies and government facilities, including the US embassy, and is frequently targeted by rockets fired by forces backed by Iran, according to the US and Iraqi officials.

Hundreds of rocket launches and drone bomb attacks have struck US soldiers and interests in Iraq in recent months.

Attacks are seldom claimed, although they are frequently blamed on pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

The new rocket fire comes after the government proclaimed this week the end of the anti-jihadist alliance led by Washington's "combat mission" on its soil. However, around 2,500 American forces and 1,000 coalition soldiers now stationed in Iraq will stay to provide training, advice, and assistance.

In Iraq, pro-Iran elements are pushing for the withdrawal of all US soldiers stationed there.

The strike also comes on the tenth anniversary of the withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq on December 18, 2011.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi escaped uninjured from an unclaimed drone bomb strike on his official house in the Green Zone in early November.

In September, a "armed drone" strike was launched against Irbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan, which has a coalition facility.

(With inputs from Reuters)