BAGHDAD — The American diplomatic compound in Baghdad faced a coordinated assault early Tuesday morning when militants fired rockets and launched at least five unmanned aircraft at the embassy, according to Iraqi security officials who characterized the incident as the most severe attack since regional hostilities commenced in late February.
A Reuters correspondent observed no fewer than three drones flying toward the embassy complex. The facility’s C-RAM defense system successfully intercepted two of the aircraft, but a third penetrated the compound’s defenses and struck within the embassy grounds, causing flames and smoke to rise from the impact site.
The sound of an explosion echoed through Iraq’s capital city, according to another Reuters witness on the scene.
Embassy officials could not be reached for comment as their mobile phones appeared to be turned off when contacted by Reuters.
Pro-Iranian militia groups have been targeting American assets throughout Iraq as payback for the ongoing conflict that started on February 28.
Just one day earlier, the Iran-affiliated organization Kataib Hezbollah confirmed the death of a high-ranking commander and official spokesman, while Popular Mobilization Forces reported that aerial bombardments resulted in the deaths of at least eight of their fighters in al-Qaim, an Iraqi border town near Syria.
In response to the embassy attack, Iraqi military personnel have been positioned throughout sections of the capital city and have sealed off Baghdad’s heavily protected Green Zone, the secure area that contains government offices and foreign diplomatic missions, including the American embassy.
