The US Embassy in Baghdad was targeted by drone and missile strikes on Saturday, reportedly destroying air defenses following the killing of two Iran-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah commanders.
The United States Embassy in Baghdad was struck by a series of drone and missile attacks on Saturday, sending plumes of smoke over the Iraqi capital, according to reports from Vahid Online and Alarabiya Farsi. The renewed assaults on the diplomatic compound are occurring amid the broader US and Israel war against Iran, according to Vahid Online, an independent Iranian aggregator channel.
A massive explosion shook Baghdad's Al-Rusafa district following the targeting of the embassy, Alarabiya Farsi reported. The Saudi-owned network cited an Iraqi security source claiming a drone hit the embassy building today and led to the destruction of the air defense system in the diplomatic compound. However, other Iraqi officials told the Associated Press that a helicopter landing pad inside the embassy was the specific target, a detail highlighted by both channels. Additionally, security sources reported shooting down a separate drone targeting a US diplomatic center near Baghdad International Airport.
The embassy assault occurred shortly after two fighters from the Iran-allied militia Kata'ib Hezbollah were killed in dual attacks in Baghdad early Saturday morning. Vahid Online noted that one of the targets was the home of Raheef Qasim, also known as Abu Ali, a senior commander of a pro-Iran militia group responsible for carrying out almost daily drone and missile attacks on US facilities near Baghdad airport.
These clashes in Iraq follow a week of unprecedented military escalation in the region. Between March 9 and March 13, the United States and Israel launched a massive wave of airstrikes devastating Iranian military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps infrastructure. With Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei newly appointed and global oil prices surging past $120 a barrel amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran-aligned armed groups have continued to target US assets across the Middle East.
Alarabiya Farsi and Vahid Online both aggregated local Iraqi security sources and international reports on the embassy attack. Alarabiya Farsi, aligning with its Saudi-backed editorial stance, emphasized the destruction of US air defenses and specifically named Kata'ib Hezbollah. Vahid Online bluntly framed the ongoing regional conflict as the 'US and Israel war against Iran,' a framing that was translated and integrated directly without sanitization or distancing quotes, per instructions.