Rockets fired near Green Zone after day of mourning for Soleimani

Rockets were launched and landed inside or near Iraq’s Green Zone following a funeral procession for Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. strike, The Associated Press reported Saturday. 

The Green Zone is where the U.S. Embassy and other foreign embassies are located. 

An Iraqi security official told the wire service that injuries were not reported following the rockets’ launch. 

One rocket reportedly landed less than one kilometer (0.62 miles) away from the U.S. embassy. 

A different official told the AP that three rockets fell outside an airbase where there are usually U.S. contractors.

A Saturday statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that there were “two attacks” near Iraqi bases hosting coalition forces. 

A CENTCOM statement said that on Saturday night, “the International Zone took indirect fire that landed outside of Coalition facilities and potentially harmed Iraqi civilians….No Coalition troops were harmed.”

“The night of Jan. 4, two rocket attacks occurred near Iraqi bases that host Coalition troops in Baghdad and Balad,” Coalition military spokesman Myles B. Caggins III said in the statement. “We have increased security and defensive measures at the Iraqi bases that host anti-ISIS Coalition troops.”

Thousands marched on Saturday to mourn Soleimani after he was killed this week in a strike authorized by President Trump.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the move came in response to “imminent threats” on American lives, while Democrats have criticized it as an escalation. 

Iran has threatened “harsh retaliation” after Soleimani’s death and the U.S. has urged its citizens to “immediately” leave Iraq.