Two rockets hit Green Zone and Iraq base housing US troops: security sources
Baghdad, Jan 4: Two mortar rounds hit the Iraqi capital's Green Zone Saturday and two rockets slammed into a base housing US troops, security sources said, a day after a deadly American strike.
The precision drone strike outside the Baghdad airport on Friday killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, top Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and a clutch of other Iranian and Iraqi figures.
In Baghdad, mortar rounds on Saturday evening hit the Green Zone, the high-security enclave where the US embassy is based, security sources said.
The Iraqi military said that one projectile hit inside the zone, while another landed close to the enclave.
Sirens rang out at the US compound, sources told AFP.
A pair of Katyusha rockets then hit the Balad air base north of Baghdad, where American troops are based, security sources and the Iraqi military said.
Security sources there reported blaring sirens and said surveillance drones were sent above the base to locate the source of the rockets.
The US embassy in Baghdad as well as the 5,200 American troops stationed across the country have faced a spate of rocket attacks in recent months that Washington has blamed on Iran and its allies in Iraq.
One attack last month killed a US contractor working in northern Iraq, prompting retaliatory American air strikes that killed 25 hardline fighters close to Iran.
Tensions boiled over on Friday when the US struck Soleimani's convoy as it drove out of the airport and US diplomats and troops across Iraq had been bracing themselves for more rocket attacks.
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Two men shot dead, one injured in firing incident in Punjab’s Batala
Chandigarh (PTI): Two persons were shot dead and one sustained injuries after unidentified persons opened fire at them in Punjab’s Batala late Monday night, police said.
The incident occurred in Bhoma village in Sri Hargobindpur subdivision.
Senior Superintendent of Police Batala, Mehtab Singh said some unidentified people opened fire at three persons who were on a walk.
The deceased were identified as Kashmir Singh and Jugraj Singh, according to the SSP. The injured, identified as another man named Jugraj Singh, has been admitted to a hospital.
Preliminary investigation revealed that there was no angle of extortion or any threat call in this incident, said the SSP.
Investigation in the matter is underway and CCTV footage in the area is being scanned, he said, adding that the culprits would soon be traced.
Police have initiated a thorough investigation and are making all efforts to identify and apprehend the accused at the earliest.
“Our teams are working on this case,” he said while replying to a question.
