Rockets and at least five drones were launched at the US embassy in Baghdad in an attack Iraqi security sources branded the “most intense” since the start of the Iran war.
Two drones were shot down by the C-RAM defense system while a third hit the embassy, a witness told Reuters Tuesday.
Footage, seen by CNN, showed air defense systems intercepting what looks like a drone over Baghdad.
The drone was intercepted before an explosion – located around 1,000 meters from the US embassy.
“There it is, there it is,” a voice is heard saying in the video as the drone was intercepted.
“It hit, it hit, it hit, it hit. What is that? A flying drone?”
A drone hit the Al Rasheed Hotel located in Baghdad’s Green Zone – a highly fortified area that is home to the embassy and other government buildings, Al Jazeera reported.
Foreign diplomats and oil company employees often visit the hotel.
Security forces were deployed and armored vehicles blocked access to the Green Zone following the strike.
Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, has condemned the attacks.
He vowed the authorities would “hunt down the perpetrators of these acts and bring them to justice immediately.”
“These criminal acts have serious repercussions for our country and undermine the government’s efforts toward reconstruction and prosperity,” his spokesperson said.
The embassy and hotel came under fire – just days after Abu Ali al-Askari, a high-ranking official of the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, was killed in a Baghdad attack.
The Iranian-backed militia group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US government.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces launched ground operations in southern Lebanon Monday, targeting Hezbollah strongholds.
With Post wires
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
