Rockets fired at Iraqi intelligence agency HQ

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The headquarters of an Iraqi intelligence agency was attacked by “outlaw groups” on Friday, a spokesperson said, hours after a similar rocket attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad. 

Arshad al-Hakim, spokesperson for the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS), told state media that “outlaw groups” fired rockets at their headquarters “causing material damage to vehicles and the building.”

The INSS “will pursue the perpetrators of these criminal attacks and bring them to justice,” he added. 

Hours earlier, the US embassy in Baghdad was targeted with rockets that caused no reported casualties.

An embassy statement sent to reporters said no specific group immediately claimed responsibility, “but indications are the attacks were initiated by Iran-aligned militias, which operate freely in Iraq.”

“We again call on the Government of Iraq, as we have done on many occasions, to do all in its power to protect diplomatic and Coalition partner personnel and facilities,” continued the statement, adding that the US reserves “the right to self-defense” and to protect their personnel.

US interests in Iraq and across the border in Syria have come under frequent rocket and drone attack following Washington’s support for Israel in its war with Palestinian Hamas. However, attacks on Iraqi institutions by local militias are rare.

The attack on the embassy comes days after a US drone strike killed five members of an Iran-backed militia near Kirkuk. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strike was an act of self-defense, as the five militia members were “preparing to launch a one-way attack drone.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani issued a directive “to pursue the perpetrators of Friday’s attack and bring them to justice,” his military spokesperson Yehia Rasool said in a statement.

In the statement, Sudani stressed that the perpetrators of these attacks “are committing an insult to Iraq, its stability and security,” adding that the group does not represent the people of Iraq.