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Rockets hit the Iraqi capital on Tuesday with four landings inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, the Iraqi military said, killing a child and injuring at least five people, signaling the end of an informal truce announced by the military. Iran-backed militias in October.
Two Iraqi security officials said one of the rockets that hit the green zone struck near the Iraqi National Security Service, just 600 meters (2,000 feet) from the US Embassy. Some of the rockets were intercepted by the US-installed C-RAM air defense system earlier this year, they said.
The Iraqi military said three rockets landed outside the green zone, one hitting near the Baghdad Medical City hospital, one at the entrance to a public park and a third detonated in the air. One child was killed and five civilians were injured, according to the military statement.
Officials said two members of the Iraqi security forces were also injured inside the green zone. They spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with the regulations. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The military said the incident would not go without “prosecution and accountability.”
US troops invaded Iraq in 2003 and left in 2011, but returned in 2014 after ISIS invaded large parts of Iraq.
Frequent attacks targeting the US embassy and vehicles carrying supplies for US troops led Washington to threaten to shut down its diplomatic mission in Baghdad and sparked a diplomatic crisis ahead of the US presidential election.
The attack follows a recent Pentagon announcement that it would reduce the troop strength in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500.
In mid-October, Iranian-backed, mostly Shiite militias said they would temporarily stop attacks targeting the US presence in Iraq, including the embassy. This came with the condition that the troops of the US-led coalition withdraw from the country in accordance with a non-binding resolution passed by the Iraqi parliament in January.
The resolution was passed by predominantly Shiite lawmakers and urged the government to take action and expel US-led coalition troops from the country.
The resolution followed the Washington-led airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassim Soleimani, the leader of the elite Iranian force Quds, and the powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, outside of Baghdad airport.
US officials, who favor the withdrawals in principle, have insisted they take place on a scheduled schedule. Most Iraqi government officials agree with a gradual withdrawal and face pressure from Iran-aligned groups who prefer an immediate exit.
A planned withdrawal has been underway in Iraq for months, with coalition troops withdrawing from several Iraqi bases.
Iraqi forces are increasingly conducting anti-Islamic State operations without US assistance, prompting the coalition to embark on a planned March withdrawal that was engineered late last year. Aid has become increasingly limited to high-level capabilities that Iraqi security forces lack, such as surveillance and air support.
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