Three rockets land inside Baghdad's Green Zone as Iranian FM visits capital

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A spokesperson for the Iraqi Commander-in-Chief confirmed on Sunday that three rockets landed inside Baghdad’s Green zone in a rare daytime attack.

Yehia Rasool released a statement confirming the attack in the Green Zone, an area housing diplomatic missions, embassies and government offices. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has since urged Iraqi security forces to detain the perpetrators.

“After the Green Zone was hit by three rockets, the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Mr Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, directed the Joint Operations Command to conduct a rapid intelligence security effort to reach out to the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” Rasool tweeted on Sunday.

There have been no reports of casualties so far. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the US has attributed past rocket attacks on sites of international importance to Iran-backed militias, who it says are looking to further inflame US-Iran tensions.

The is the second rocket attack targeting the Green Zone after Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS) personnel raided the headquarters of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Baghdad province on June 26, detaining at least 14 fighters of the group who were accused of recent rocket attacks in the capital. 

The attack comes as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Baghdad on Sunday to meet with Iraqi officials to discuss several matters, including the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Solaimani, and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) deputy Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US drone attack in January.