Rocket barrage targets U.S. embassy in Baghdad, explosions heard

BAGHDAD, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was targeted by rockets on Saturday evening, and explosions were heard, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

A rocket barrage struck the U.S. embassy location, triggering its defense systems, with no immediate reports OF casualties or losses, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Shortly after the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, ordered all military and security commanders to pursue those responsible for the "terrorist act of launching projectiles toward the U.S. Embassy" in Baghdad and bring them to justice.

A statement by Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Iraq's commander-in-chief, said that targeting diplomatic missions and embassies in Iraq is an act that cannot be justified or accepted under any circumstances, adding that such actions undermine national security and stability.

Decisions related to war and military action remain exclusively within the authority of the state, which alone embodies the national decision, it said. ■