US vs Iran: 2 Missiles hits near US embassy in Iraq

2 missiles struck in close proximity of the US embassy in Baghdad while rockets hit a US airbase near the Iraqi capital on Saturday, a day after a US drone strike eliminated top Iran commander General Qassem Soleimani.

The strikes took place in the Green Zone, the high-security enclave where the US embassy is based, media reported. The Iraqi military said one projectile hit inside the zone, while another landed close to the enclave.

Missiles also struck the Al-Balad Air Force Base hosting US troops
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had vowed revenge after Suleimani’s killing.

The US embassy in Baghdad had urged American citizens in Iraq to immediately leave the country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had slammed Soleimani’s assassination as “an extremely dangerous and foolish escalation”.

In other news, the United States said Friday it is sending nearly 3,000 more Army to the Mideast in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump.

Defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet announced by the Pentagon, said the troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The reinforcements took shape as Trump gave his first comments on the strike, declaring that he ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani because he was “plotting to kill” many Americans. “He should have been taken out many years ago,” he added.