Rockets hit Baghdad Green Zone near US embassy after Trump rows back on Iran war threats
Air raid sirens were set off after two rockets were fired into Baghdad’s International Zone, one landing just 100 yards from the American embassy.
It was not clear who fired the projectiles or where they came from but authorities confirmed no one had been injured.
Following the Green Zone assault, which took place just after midnight local time, the Iraqi joint military command said the rockets used were Soviet-era Katyushas, used by many of the country’s armed factions.
It comes one day after Iranian forces launched 22 ballistic missiles at the US-coalition al-Asad airbase and Erbil Internaitonal Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning, killing no American or Iraqi troops.
According to intelligence and government sources, Iran deliberately missed the most crucial targets, with only minor damage, so as to be seen retaliating while avoiding a full-scale war.
Tensions between America and Iran dramatically escalated after President Trump ordered the assassination of Iran’s top General Qasem Soleimani on Friday.
US authorities accused him of pulling the strings of a series of proxy wars in the region, orchestrating militia attacks on US bases and violent protests and endorsing violent protests at the embassy in Baghdad.
But Trump struck a more conciliatory tone during a White House press conference earlier today, stepping back from his previous threats of a war.
He said: ‘Iran appears to be standing down which appears to be a very good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.
‘We want you to have a future and a great future, one you deserve.
‘One in prosperity and harmony with the world. ‘The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.’
Just days before Trump threatened to flout international law by attacking Iran’s historic cultural sites and vowed to use ‘disproportionate force’ if the country dared attack the US.
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