Attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad and Iraqi Hezbollah mourns its security official

SadaNews - Explosions were reported near the US embassy in Baghdad as the Iraqi "Hezbollah Brigades" announced on Monday evening the death of their prominent security official, known as "Abu Ali Al-Askari". This comes amid ongoing security tensions in the country since the direct confrontation between Iran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other at the end of last month.

Media sources early Tuesday reported that air defenses intercepted a drone targeting the US embassy located in the heart of the Iraqi capital, followed by the interception of a second drone minutes after the first.

Shortly thereafter, Reuters cited Iraqi security sources stating that a wave of drone and rocket attacks targeted the US embassy in Baghdad, describing this wave as the most intense since the onset of the attacks, involving at least five drones.

Reuters also quoted an eyewitness who heard a loud explosion in the Iraqi capital, and another witness who saw three drones heading towards the embassy. The air defense system was able to shoot down two of them, while the third crashed inside the embassy compound, leading to rising flames and clouds of smoke.

On another front, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades mourned their security official