Three missiles hit U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Sunday

BAGHDAD – Three missiles struck the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Sunday. A source told AFP that one missile exploded in the embassy restaurant, while the other two missiles exploded a short distance away.

Security sources told Reuters that, at least 3 employees were wounded in the attack. This is the first attack of this type on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in several years.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the U.S. accused Iranian-backed militias.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi condemned the attack, saying that the continued occurrence of such acts could “lead Iraq to turn into a battlefield”.

“We call on the Iraqi government to fulfill its obligations to protect our diplomatic facilities,” said a State Department spokesperson in a statement.

The targeted U.S. assassination of senior Iranian commander, General Qassim Soleimani, Iranian missile barrage targeting U.S. military personnel in response, and the destruction by pro-Iranian protesters of outer facilities at the U.S. Embassy have escalated tensions between the U.S., and Iran, with Iraq situated in between the two.