Multiple rockets aimed at an Iraqi air base just north of the U.S. embassy where American troops are deployed, as well as the heavily militarized Green Zone were launched Saturday evening, according to multiple reports.
At least one rocket struck the Balad airbase where an unspecified number of U.S. troops are housed while another hit near the embassy compound in the Green Zone, U.S. Army Public Affairs spokesperson Maj. Charlie Dietz confirmed on Twitter.
Dietz said Balad was the only confirmed point of impact, although a second rocket seemed to strike just south of the Tigris river in the Green Zone.
According to a Reuters report, the Iraqi military said Celebration Square, just a few blocks away from the U.S. embassy, was hit.
“Several rockets targeting Celebration Square and the Jadriya area in Baghdad, and the Balad air base in Salahuddin province, with no loss of life. Further details to come,” the statement read.
Images from one of the impact points appeared to show a car hit with shrapnel and a sidewalk that was blown out.
News of the rockets came just hours after it was reported that a senior Iranian military official threatened an attack on some 35 “American targets” in retaliation of the U.S. airstrike at Baghdad International airport that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Senior Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Gholamali Abuhamzeh foreshadowed a possible attack on “vital American targets” located in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there,” Abuhamzeh said according to a Reuters report, citing Tasnim news agency.
“Vital American targets in the region have been identified by Iran since long time ago … some 35 U.S. targets in the region, as well as Tel Aviv, are within our reach.”