The United States embassy’s logistical support center in Baghdad International Airport was attacked by an unknown form of shelling on Tuesday night, according to an Iraqi security source who spoke to Sputnik news agency. The nature of the attack is not yet determined,” the source said, noting that it remains unclear whether missiles or mortar shells were used during the incident which occurred near the US embassy’s logistical support headquarters at Baghdad airport. There have been no reports of human casualties so far.
On Wednesday, a security source informed Shafaq news agency that the strike, which could have involved rockets or mortars, also affected areas around the headquarters of Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Agency. The recent attack on the logistical center at Baghdad airport occurred just hours before Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Iraq. Later that day, he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid.
Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesperson for the Kataib Hezbollah resistance faction, called the timing of the attack “suspicious” and questioned its motives. Those behind the attack on Baghdad airport at this particular time have suspicious motives,” he told Sputnik. The aim is to disrupt the visit of the Iranian president to Baghdad.” He urged Iraqi security forces to “expose those responsible.
In October, Iraqi resistance factions formed a coalition called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) and began carrying out drone and rocket attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria. This was done both in solidarity with Palestinian resistance and as a means of pressuring US forces present in Iraq. While these operations were officially halted in January, they have seen a gradual resumption in recent months due to the ongoing war in Gaza and stalled negotiations between Baghdad and Washington regarding the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
A drone attack on the Kharab al-Jir base in northeastern Syria injured several US and coalition personnel on August 10th, while US bases in Iraq and Syria experienced a few attacks in late July. Despite these incidents, Washington has not indicated any intention of withdrawing its forces from Iraq. Reports emerged on Saturday, citing sources, that Baghdad and Washington have agreed on a late 2026 deadline for US troop withdrawal; however, The Cradle’s Iraq correspondent dismissed the report as untrue.
