US air defenses respond to rockets targeting Baghdad’s Green Zone

Two rockets were launched towards the Green Zone on Sunday morning local time, Iraqi security forces have confirmed.

“The Green Zone in Baghdad was the target of two Katyusha rockets. The first was shot down in the air by C-RAM defence batteries, the second fell in a square, damaging two vehicles,” they said in a statement as reported by AFP.

Footage posted on social media purportedly shows the moment one of the projectiles was intercepted by the air defense systems, scrambled to respond to the threat.

One of the two rockets reportedly landed merely 500 metres (1640 ft) from the US embassy, AFP reported, citing security sources.

The new rocket attack comes as the December 31 deadline for the US combat troops to withdraw from the country inches closer. Last month, Baghdad denied reports that the Western troops would be allowed to stay beyond that date, dismissing speculation of the deadline extension as “inaccurate”

Upon the end of the combat mission, the remaining coalition forces would switch to training, advising and assisting Iraqi troops.

While the change of the US-led coalition forces’ role in the country has been billed as the “withdrawal” of the foreign troops, Reuters reported last week, citing security officials, that the formal conclusion of the mission would have “little difference” on the number of the US troops stationed in Iraq.

Last week, top US commander for the Middle East, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, revealed that the Pentagon does not plan to put a lid on its military operations in Iraq, saying that the US forces would provide air support for the Iraqi troops taking on the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants.

McKenzie predicted that Washington’s intention to keep some 2,500 troops it currently has in Iraq on the ground is likely to trigger a “response” from “Iran-backed militias” as the deadline looms large.

He insisted that the US won’t budge on the demands, however. “They actually want all U.S. forces to leave, and all U.S. forces are not going to leave.”

This article originally appeared in RT