Reports: Rocket attack hits Baghdad's Green Zone

20/5/2019 2:25

        An apparent rocket attack has exploded in the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to government headquarters and the U.S. Embassy. Iraq's state-run news agency says a Katyusha rocket crashed inside the area without causing any casualties. Alert sirens sounded briefly in Baghdad after the explosion was heard, according to Associated Press reporters on the east side of the Tigris River. The apparent attack comes amid heightened tensions across the Persian Gulf, after the White House ordered warships and bombers to the region earlier this month to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran. The U.S. also has ordered nonessential staff out of its diplomatic posts in Iraq. Iraq hosts more than 5,000 U.S. troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those U.S. forces to leave.