Tension as explosion rock U.S. embassy in Iraq

A series of explosions shook the area around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, on Saturday morning, sending a plume of thick black smoke rising above the diplomatic compound.

The blasts came shortly after reports that two members of a powerful Iran‑backed militia were killed, prompting sharp reactions from allies and rivals in a region already tense with conflict.

Reports indicate that the embassy complex was among the locations affected during the incident, although the exact cause of the explosions has not yet been confirmed.

Sources also suggested that a drone may have struck the embassy area, while another projectile, believed to be a rocket, landed close to the embassy’s airbase. Authorities have yet to provide full details about the attack.

At the time of filing this report the US embassy is yet to make any comment on the incident.

The Saturday’s attack is said to be the second time the US embassy has come under attack in Baghdad since the start of the war between the United States and Iran.

Meanwhile, several Tehran-backed armed groups, which Washington has designated as terrorist organisations, allied under an umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq have claimed daily drone and rocket attacks against US bases in the region.

Since the start of the war, several attacks targeting members of those groups across Iraq have been blamed on the US and Israel.

The attack on Saturday occurred shortly after two strikes targeted the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah and killed kill two of its members, including a key figure.