US embassy in Baghdad hit in missiles attack

BAGHDAD - The US Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was hit in a missiles attack, Iraqi security sources said on Saturday.

The attack occurred shortly after 3 a.m. local time. Iraqi air defences intercepted at least three additional missiles aimed at the embassy, but the two that penetrated caused significant structural damage to the chancery annex and surrounding facilities.

No US diplomatic or military personnel were killed, though four American contractors sustained minor injuries and were treated at the embassy clinic. Iraqi security forces reported no civilian casualties in the immediate vicinity.

The US State Department and Pentagon immediately blamed “Iranian-backed militias” operating inside Iraq, describing the strike as “a direct extension of Tehran’s reckless aggression” that began after US-Israeli operations in late February. Iraqi Prime Minister’s office issued a strong condemnation, vowing to hunt down those responsible and stating that “such attacks on foreign missions will not be tolerated on Iraqi soil.”

This is the first direct hit on the US Embassy in Baghdad since the current escalation. It comes less than 24 hours after an explosion killed at least 11 people during Quds Day marches in Tehran’s Palestine Square and amid Iran’s ongoing missile and drone campaign against Gulf states.