A rocket hit the Green Zone in central Baghdad Sunday night. The highly fortified center that houses Iraqi government offices and many foreign embassies, including the United States'. Residents of the Green Zone and surrounding areas heard the explosion followed by warning sirens and the deployment of security forces in several suburbs surrounding the area.
“A Katyusha rocket fell in the middle of the Green Zone without causing any losses,” reported the Iraqi Security Media Center. It landed near the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, about half a kilometer (0.3 miles) from the US Embassy. A spokesman of the US State of Department confirmed that a “low-grade” rocket landed in the international zone near the US Embassy with no causalities.
“We will hold Iran responsible if any such attacks are conducted by its proxy militia forces or elements of such forces, and will respond to Iran accordingly,” the State Department official said.
A new militia called "Operations of Shahid Ali al-Mansour" took responsibility for the attack. A statement from the group read, "This is not about the conflicting axes in the region. Our demand is clear: bringing Michael Behenna back to prison." US President Donald Trump granted Behenna, convicted of killing an Iraqi prisoner, a full pardon in May.
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