Explosions rock Baghdad as security sources say US embassy attacked

BAGHDAD: The US embassy in Baghdad was hit by an attack on Saturday following strikes that killed two members of a powerful Iran-backed group in the capital, security sources said.

Iraq, long a proxy battleground between the United States and Iran, was quickly dragged into the Middle East war triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

A cloud of black smoke rose above the US diplomatic mission shortly after the sound of explosions on Saturday morning, an AFP journalist said.

Two security officials told AFP the embassy complex was struck in the attack, though the exact cause was not clear. One security source said a drone had hit the embassy, while another said a projectile, believed to be a rocket had fallen on the diplomatic complex.

Two security officials told AFP the embassy complex was struck in the attack, though the exact cause was not clear. One security source said a drone had hit the embassy, while another said projectile, believed to be a rocket had fallen near the embassy’s air base.