Three rockets strike near Baghdad’s Green Zone hours after Iran’s Zarif lands in Iraq

Three rockets landed near the American Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone in Iraq on Sunday, the Associated Press reported citing a security source.
The rockets struck a vacant dirt yard near the embassy, which has been a target in other recent attempted attacks.

The incident took place several hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif landed in Iraq to meet with a number of senior Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih and President of the Council of Representatives Mohamed al-Halbousi. Zarif also visited the assassination site of slain commander Qassem Soleimani to pay his respects.

No further details were available on the latest incident; however, United States officials have blamed Iran-backed militia for regular rocket attacks on US facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy in the capital Baghdad. The US Embassy recently installed C-RAM defense systems, according to AP.

“It was unclear if the system was operational during the attack Sunday afternoon. The daytime attack was unusual; most have occurred after nightfall,” AP reported.

No known groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, according to local media reports.