US Embassy and Air Force base in Iraq were target of separate rocket attacks just a day after US took down Iran's military commander Qasem Soleimani. Two rocket missiles were fired at the embassy which landed in Green Zone. US Air Base that came under attack is located at Balad.
These rocket attacks may mark the start of a fresh chapter of violence in West Asia/Middle East. Tensions are high after Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed on Friday. Soleimani was killed in an air-strike carried out by the US near Baghdad airport in Iraq.
Soleimani was a high ranking military official of Iran. He headed Quds Force of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard. Qasem Soleimani's death drew very strong reaction from Iran and the country's leadership vowed to avenge his death.
It is not yet clear whether the rocket attack has been initiated in retaliation of Qasem Soleimani's death.
Vehicles near the embassy were damaged in attack on US Embassy in Baghdad
Any semblance of peace between Iran and the US vanished on Friday. Both countries have long been enemies of each other but under former US President Barack Obama, USA and other world powers signed a nuclear deal with Iran that had seen US-Iran relations reach an all-time positive high.
However, under President Trump, US withdrew from the deal as a result of which US-Iran relations nosedived rapidly.
After Qasem Soleimani's death, any chance of immediate rapprochement between the two countries has rapidly vanished.
Also Read | How, why and where Trump decided to kill Iran's Major Qasem Soleimani
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