BAGHDAD: The US embassy in Baghdad said on Wednesday that a late-night explosion at Baghdad International Airport was an attack on a US diplomatic compound that caused no casualties. The blast occurred just hours before Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian flew in for his first foreign visit.
The embassy’s statement described the incident as a deliberate assault on the Baghdad Diplomatic Services Compound, a facility used by the US. “There was an attack at the Baghdad Diplomatic Services Compound, a US diplomatic facility,” the embassy said. “Fortunately, there are no reported casualties, and we are assessing the damage and its cause.”
The explosion took place in an area of the airport occupied by international coalition advisers. According to Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, the origin of the explosion remains undetermined, and no group has claimed responsibility. Major General Tahseen Al Khafaji, a spokesman for the command, said that Iraqi security forces were investigating the incident.
A senior military official said that “two Katyusha-type rockets” were used in the attack. The first rocket struck the wall of the Iraqi anti-terrorist forces compound, while the second landed within the base housing the international coalition led by the United States.
