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- Oct 15, 2017
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https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east...-u-s-embassy-in-baghdad-reports-say-1.8447007
Three rockets struck the American embassy in the Iraqi capital, the AFP news agency reported.
Although there had been no official acknowledgement of the attack yet, a U.S. official talking to CNN confirmed at least of one of the projectiles had hit a dining facility in the compound.
Multiple reports indicated that four rockets had landed in the green zone in the city. There were no casualties, although Iraqi independent portal Alsumaria News reported three people were injured, citing an unnamed security source.
Helicopters were evacuating some people from inside the US embassy compound, the source added without further details.
Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the attack, a statement from his office said, and said that the continuation of such acts could "drag Iraq into becoming a battlefield."
There were widespread protests on Sunday in Baghdad and the southern city of Nassariya.
Iraqi security forces fired teargas and live bullets in clashes with protesters angered by high-level corruption who resisted with stones and petrol bombs, Reuters witnesses and security sources said.
One protester was killed in the capital, police sources said, and more than 100 demonstrators were hurt in the violence in the capital and several other cities after the security forces tried to clear sit-in protest camps, medical sources said.
Other medical sources said 75 of those hurt were in Nassariya, where a Reuters witness said protesters set fire to two security vehicles and hundreds of other demonstrators controlled key bridges in the city.
The protesters are demanding the removal of what they consider a corrupt ruling elite and an end to foreign interference in Iraqi politics, especially by Iran, which dominates state institutions.
Unrest resumed last week, after a lull of several weeks, following the U.S. killing of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi paramilitary chief in Baghdad this month.
The killing, to which Iran responded with ballistic missile attacks on two Iraqi military bases, has revived tensions in Iraqi politics and delayed the formation of a new government.
In Baghdad, protesters were coughing and washing their faces and eyes to rid themselves of the effects of the gas while medical workers provided first aid, as the site was inaccessible to ambulances, a Reuters reporter said.
Tuk tuks evacuated wounded protesters in clouds of tear gas and black smoke from burning tyres.
Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of university students had gathered in Tahrir square, the main protest camp, chanting slogans against the United States and Iran.
In the southern city of Basra, more than 2,000 students arrived at a protest camp, another Reuters witness said.
Protests also continued in the cities of Kerbala, Najaf and Diwaniya, defying attempts by security forces to end their months-long sit-in, police sources and Reuters witnesses said.
Three rockets struck the American embassy in the Iraqi capital, the AFP news agency reported.
Although there had been no official acknowledgement of the attack yet, a U.S. official talking to CNN confirmed at least of one of the projectiles had hit a dining facility in the compound.
Multiple reports indicated that four rockets had landed in the green zone in the city. There were no casualties, although Iraqi independent portal Alsumaria News reported three people were injured, citing an unnamed security source.
Helicopters were evacuating some people from inside the US embassy compound, the source added without further details.
Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the attack, a statement from his office said, and said that the continuation of such acts could "drag Iraq into becoming a battlefield."
There were widespread protests on Sunday in Baghdad and the southern city of Nassariya.
Iraqi security forces fired teargas and live bullets in clashes with protesters angered by high-level corruption who resisted with stones and petrol bombs, Reuters witnesses and security sources said.
One protester was killed in the capital, police sources said, and more than 100 demonstrators were hurt in the violence in the capital and several other cities after the security forces tried to clear sit-in protest camps, medical sources said.
Other medical sources said 75 of those hurt were in Nassariya, where a Reuters witness said protesters set fire to two security vehicles and hundreds of other demonstrators controlled key bridges in the city.
The protesters are demanding the removal of what they consider a corrupt ruling elite and an end to foreign interference in Iraqi politics, especially by Iran, which dominates state institutions.
Unrest resumed last week, after a lull of several weeks, following the U.S. killing of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi paramilitary chief in Baghdad this month.
The killing, to which Iran responded with ballistic missile attacks on two Iraqi military bases, has revived tensions in Iraqi politics and delayed the formation of a new government.
In Baghdad, protesters were coughing and washing their faces and eyes to rid themselves of the effects of the gas while medical workers provided first aid, as the site was inaccessible to ambulances, a Reuters reporter said.
Tuk tuks evacuated wounded protesters in clouds of tear gas and black smoke from burning tyres.
Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of university students had gathered in Tahrir square, the main protest camp, chanting slogans against the United States and Iran.
In the southern city of Basra, more than 2,000 students arrived at a protest camp, another Reuters witness said.
Protests also continued in the cities of Kerbala, Najaf and Diwaniya, defying attempts by security forces to end their months-long sit-in, police sources and Reuters witnesses said.
