Middle East Conflict: US Embassy In Iraq's Baghdad Reportedly Struck By Drone - What We Know So Far

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A drone hit the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, according to an Iraqi security official, while an AFP journalist observed smoke billowing from the compound.

“A drone hit the embassy,” the official said, with a second security source confirming that an attack had targeted the diplomatic mission, AFP reported.

Since the conflict began on Feb. 28 with a major U.S.‐Israeli strike in Iran, drone and missile attacks have repeatedly struck American interests in Iraq - including military bases near Baghdad and at Erbil airports as well as U.S. diplomatic facilities. At the same time, Iran and allied Iraqi militias have launched strikes on oil fields and other energy infrastructure, escalating the economic impact of the war.

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Earlier in the day, Iran’s armed forces warned that they would target oil infrastructure linked to Washington after President Donald Trump announced that the United States had bombed Iran’s oil hub, Kharg Island.

The military’s Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, in a statement reported by Iranian media, said that any oil or energy facilities owned by companies cooperating with the United States would be“immediately destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s own energy sites were attacked.

The announcement, reported by Iran’s Fars and Tasnim news agencies, was in “response to statements” made by the US president who had earlier said in a social media post that strikes had “obliterated” military targets on Kharg Island.

Iraq is caught in the crossfire of the Iran war

Iraq is increasingly caught in the crossfire of the conflict involving Iran, becoming the only country targeted by both sides, raising the risk that a nation previously spared from two years of regional unrest could spiral into a full-scale crisis, as reported by AP.

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As the war approaches its second week, conditions in Iraq are worsening. Attacks on oil fields and infrastructure, along with disruptions to Gulf shipping, have almost entirely halted exports, threatening a country that depends on this trade for the majority of its revenue.

Prox wars

Iran-backed groups have also targeted Kurdish factions in northern Iraq after reports that Washington planned to arm some of them to counter Tehran. Certain Iranian Kurdish leaders have indicated they might conduct cross-border operations into Iran if supported by the U.S, AP reported.

Iraq is currently governed by a caretaker administration after the U.S. opposed the nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al‐Maliki. Caretaker Premier Mohammed Shia al‐Sudani, with even more limited authority, lacks the power to control influential militia groups.

In response, the U.S. has carried out strikes on militia positions across Iraq, including sites in Jurf al-Sakhr south of Baghdad, northern Iraq, and al-Qaim near the Iraq-Syria border.

As in previous conflicts, Iraqis have adapted to daily violence that disrupts everyday life. In Erbil, cafe patrons heard the sound of incoming drones followed by a muffled explosion and saw smoke rising on the horizon where a projectile was intercepted. A waiter reassured customers that the strikes were targeting U.S. facilities, such as the consulate or airport, and posed no direct danger to them.

(With inputs from agencies)

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