Strikes hit US Embassy in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: The US Embassy in Baghdad was hit by an attack following strikes that killed three members of a powerful group in the capital, security sources said. A cloud of black smoke rose above the US diplomatic mission shortly after the sound of explosions on Saturday morning. Two security officials said that the embassy complex was struck by a drone. The US Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident. It is the second time the US Embassy has come under attack in Baghdad since the start of the war.
Several Tehran-backed armed groups, which Washington has designated as 'terrorist organisations', allied under an umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have claimed daily drone and rocket attacks against US bases in Iraq and the region. Since the start of the war, several attacks targeting members of those groups across Iraq have been blamed on the US and Israel.
The attack on the embassy took place shortly after two strikes targeted Kataeb Hezbollah in Baghdad and killed three of its members, including a commander. The first strike hit a house in the Arasat neighbourhood, where several groups have a presence. Two hours later, a second attack struck a vehicle in the Nahrawan district. Security sources initially said two group members had been killed, including 'a key figure' in the house, and another in the attack on the vehicle. — AFP