Baghdad police said three Katyusha rockets were launched from the Zafaraniyah district just outside the city

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Three rockets have fallen inside Baghdad’s Green Zone on Tuesday morning, close to the US embassy.

A BBC reporter said alarms were sounding in the US embassy complex and speakers were telling those inside to take shelter.

Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) #Breaking



“Rocket attack alarms sounding off multiple times on the #US #Baghdad Embassy Complex and Union III. Heard the booms myself on Union III. Speakers telling all to take shelter immediately.” pic.twitter.com/F1lpbWm9RE

Iraqi police told Reuters that three Katyusha rockets fell inside the Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions. The rockets were launched from the Zafaraniyah district outside Baghdad, the sources said, adding that two rockets landed near the US embassy.

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On the afternoon of 8 January, two rockets landed in the Green Zone, hours after Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing US troops.

That rocket salvo was in turn a retaliation for a US drone strike on 3 January that killed senior Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in Iraq, resulting in heightened tensions in the region.