RTFri, 03 Jan 2020 23:19 UTC
© Reuters/Thaier Al-SudaniMember of the Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) holds up a victory sign, Tal Afar, Iraq.
Several explosions have rocked Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where the US Embassy is located. The Iraqi military confirmed that some rockets were fired, targeting the area.
Several unguided 'Katyusha' rockets landed inside the Green Zone, the military said in a statement cited by Reuters. There have been no reported casualties so far. Some accounts say one rocket landed not far from the US embassy.
One blast allegedly blocked the road leading to the American diplomatic mission in the Iraqi capital. Mortar shells also hit the neighboring Jadriya district, where Baghdad University is located, injuring at least five people.
The incidents come a day after Washington ordered the assassination of one of Iran's top commanders, Major General Qassem Soleimani. The Iraqi Shia PMF militia deputy commander was also killed in the US drone strike, alongside a dozen others.
The US claimed the assassination was an act of pre-emptive self-defense. Tehran called it an act of international terrorism and vowed revenge. Massive demonstrations mourning the death of Soleimani and the Iraqi militia commanders were held in both Iraq and Iran.
Comment: Apart from that though, no 'revenge' so far. There were reports earlier in the day of another airstrike, initially blamed on the US, killing '6 medics' north of Baghdad, but the Iraqis have since retracted that report...
The Iranians have announced they have
'35 US & Israeli targets' in mind for a counter-strike, but their statements so far have been fairly toned down:
Iranian President Rouhani has said that Iran has the right to seek revenge, but that "retaliation will come when the 'dirty hands of the US' are removed from the region indefinitely".
So, after the Americans have left the Persian Gulf, then Iran will knock out Israel?
Maybe.
In the meantime, it looks like there'll be no significant retaliation from Iran. Their long-standing operation to slowly crow-bar the US out of the region continues as before.
All armchair generals can deactivate combat mode on their gamer chairs and stand down.
UPDATE: Sunday 5th January 16:14RT reports that the US-led coalition
provides details on the strikes:
US-led coalition confirms rocket attacks near Iraqi bases housing US troops, says no servicemen hurt
"The night of Jan. 4, two rocket attacks occurred near Iraqi bases that host Coalition troops in Baghdad and Balad, a total of 13 attacks in the past two months," a statement attributed to coalition spokesman Colonel Myles B. Caggins III said Saturday.
The attacks took place within the span of four minutes on Saturday evening local time, Caggins reported, saying that the first of the two attacks targeted the heavily-fortified Green Zone, which hosts a number of diplomatic and military facilities, including some that house US troops.
Noting that no US military were injured in the shelling, the spokesman said that it could have "potentially" led to casualties among the civilian population.
"At 7:46 p.m. the International Zone took indirect fire that landed outside of Coalition facilities and potentially harmed Iraqi civilians," the statement read.
Several minutes after the rockets hit the Green Zone, Balad Air Base, located 60 kilometers north of Baghdad, which serves as home to some US troops, also came under rocket fire, the coalition confirmed, saying that the Iraqi military has launched an investigation into both incidents.
Meanwhile the US-led coalition deny
reports of an attack on an Iraqi security staff HQ:
The Al-Arabiya TV channel broke the news on Saturday that mortar fire hit the surroundings of the Iraqi regional security staff facility in the northern province of Ninawa (Nineveh).
The Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) debunked the shelling in a statement issued hours after the attack was first reported.
"The Iraqi Security Media Cell has confirmed that reports of attacks at the Ninewah Operation Center in Mosul are false: we ask that people request confirmation through government officials, instead of spreading rumors", the statement said.
According to various media reports, the commander of the Nineveh operations denied that any attack occurred. Netizens have shared an unconfirmed statement by the commander.
Earlier in the day, Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia warned Iraqi security forces to stay away from American military installations in Iraq. Several projectiles on Saturday hit Baghdad residential areas in Al-Jadriya and the Balad military base to the north of the capital. Al-Arabiya reported that five people were injured as a result of mortar shelling in the Al-Jadriya region.
Sputnik
reports of an airstrike on the Iraq-Syria border:
Earlier in the day, three separate incidents took place in which rockets were fired in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, reportedly injuring at least five people as the Pentagon has purportedly continued attacking certain Iraqi military installations.
An airstrike on the Iraqi-Syrian border and inside Syrian territory was reported by Al-Mayadeen, citing sources that claimed that forces deployed at the border posted a security alert.
Local media claim, citing sources, that the most recent airstrikes have targeted installations of Iraq's Kataeb Hezbollah militia in Al-Qaim region on the Iraqi-Syrian border.
Unconfirmed reports claim that at least 5 people were killed in the US strike targeting "Imam Ali" military base.
The region is reportedly known to host Iranian-backed militia forces. There has been no confirmation of the attack. The US Department of Defence has not issued a statement.
The airstrike comes on the heels of previous attacks on Saturday that were reportedly carried out by US forces in Iraq, targeting various military installations of the local militia.
The series of reported US air raids against Iranian-backed militia in Iraq falls against a backdrop of the dangerous escalation in Iran-US relations after the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander, Qasem Soleimani, was assassinated on Friday in a US drone attack near the Baghdad International Airport.
Sputnik provides
footage of the alleged border airstrike:
Deir Ezzor 24 reported that flames were seen at the Iraqi-Syrian border, following reports about an unconfirmed airstrike in the area.
Tweet text: "Flames of fire are seen in the border area between Al-Bukamal and Iraq that are believed to be aerial bombardments in that area".
UPDATE: 05/01/2020 19:51: RT reports yet
another barrage of fire near U.S. embassy in the Green Zone:
Loud explosions, sirens have been reported in the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone housing foreign embassies, including the American diplomatic missions.
Several rockets have hit the Green Zone not far from the American embassy, Reuters reported, citing witnesses on the ground. Loud sirens can be heard in Baghdad.
There has been no information about any casualties or damage so far. It is the second such incident targeting the Green Zone in just a few days since a top Iranian commander was killed on orders from Washington.
UPDATE: 06/01/2020 00:31: Sputnik reports US Embassy under shelling
Heavy shelling late on Sunday targeted the Green Zone in central Baghdad, where government buildings and diplomatic facilities are situated. Various videos depicting the alleged moment of detonating katyusha-type projectiles at the premises of the US embassy in Baghdad have flooded social media.
The Iraqi military said earlier that at least 3 shells, identified as Soviet-made katyusha-type projectiles, hit the centre of Baghdad. Media reports alleged, citing sources, that several people were injured due to the shelling. Netizens have shared video depicting the alleged moment when the shells started exploding in the Green Zone.
The clip, reportedly made with a cellphone, depicts a compound wall, possibly in Baghdad, and captures sounds of distant explosions.
Another shaky clip alleges the moment the projectiles exploded in Baghdad's Green Zone. The dim video allegedly depicts military personnel standing near an armored vehicle in Bahgdad. A voice speaking in Arabic is heard in the background.
An eyewitness allegedly in the vicinity of the area targeted by the shelling on Sunday was making a video recording but after the first explosions detonate, the video abruptly ends, as the eyewitness quickly abandons the suddenly dangerous area.
there are too many groups inside Iraq who either want to avenge the Great Major General Soleimani or I$I$ groups who want to start a war. Either way, it would be almost impossible for Iran to control them.