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Iran-backed Militias Resume Rocket Attacks Toward US Embassy in Iraq

Namo Abdulla

   WASHINGTON - Weeks of continued calm in and around Baghdad's Green Zone
   were disturbed Tuesday when several rockets were fired toward the U.S.
   Embassy, located in the fortified area that houses key government
   offices and other diplomatic facilities.

   Iraqi officials say at least three of the seven rockets fired were
   intercepted by the Counter Rocket, Artilleryand Mortar (C-Ram) system
   installed near the U.S. Embassy, but some of them fell in nearby
   civilian areas, killing at least one child and injuring several others.
   The attack did not kill or wound any Americans.

   Initially, a new pro-Iran group called Ashab al-Kahf or "the cave
   companions," which Iraqi intelligence sources describe as a subgroup of
   Kataib Hezbollah, the usual suspect in attacks on U.S. interests in
   Iraq,claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.

   Denial of responsibility

   But after news of civilian casualties broke, KH and its political ally
   in the Iraqi parliament, the Fatah Coalition, issued separate
   statements denying the involvement of Shiite militias in the attack.
   They both blamed it, without evidence, on President Donald Trump's
   election performance.

   "The shelling of the embassy came to cover up Trump's loss in the
   elections through exporting his internal crises and trying to ignite a
   full-scale war," the KH statement said.

   The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in a statement on Wednesday strongly
   condemned the attack, noting reports that "Iran-backed militias again
   took credit for the attack." The statement also called on the Iraqi
   government to hold the violent armed groups accountable.

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