Breaking: Iran-Backed Militia Fires Three Rockets at US Embassy in Baghdad

By Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge

Summary:

• 3 Katyusha rockets land in Baghdad’s Green Zone which houses government buildings, foreign missions and the US embassy.
• The target was US embassy
• Sirens go off at embassy
• One rocket fell between embassy and a Govt building (Mayadeen)

It was supposed to be a day of de-escalation, so when Reuters, Sky News Arabia, Fox News and other sources reported that “several” Katuysha rockets were fired by the IRGC-backed Kataib Hezbollah and hit the Green Zone in Baghdad and explosions have been heard…

***Support BeforeItsNews by trying APeX (far superior to colloidal silver) or any of our four other great health products at www.mitocopper.com ***

Al Arabiya English✔@AlArabiya_Eng

Loud explosions heard in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone which houses government buildings and foreign missions in Iraq, according to media reports.https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/01/09/Loud-explosions-heard-in-Baghdad-s-Green-Zone.html …

12:54 PM – Jan 8, 2020

Albert Batlayeri@AlbertBatlayeri

#BREAKING : : #IRGC backed Kataib #Hezbollah launched 2 #Katyusha rockets fell near #US embassy in central #Baghdad #GreenZone, #Iraq.

US #Embassy sirens heard.

1:11 PM – Jan 8, 2020

See Albert Batlayeri‘s other Tweets

Louisa Loveluck✔@leloveluck

Iraqi military confirms two rockets fell “inside” Baghdad’s Green Zone. No casualties reported. https://twitter.com/SecMedCell/status/1215016938172243969 … https://twitter.com/leloveluck/status/1215014156048486401 …

Louisa Loveluck✔@leloveluck

Two large explosions heard in Baghdad.

1:10 PM – Jan 8, 2020

… the headline-scanning algo reaction was swift.

Oil and gold jumped.

A clip posted by Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, presumably located near the embassy, confirms that sirens are blaring in Baghdad with the warning “incoming” heard in the background:

Trey Yingst✔@TreyYingst

BREAKING: Rocket fire into Baghdad’s Green Zone

12:54 PM – Jan 8, 2020

Meanwhile, another clip suggests a fire has broken out in the Green Zone after the rocket attack:

INTELWAVE@inteldotwav

VIDEO: Rockets land in the Baghdad Green Zone, fire has broken out

1:07 PM – Jan 8, 2020

The good news is that at least for now, no casualties have been reported:

According to an official #Iraq-I source two misilrs het the Green Zone, no causalities. https://t.co/Lp70Y1ypB0

— Feras Kilani فراس كيلاني (@FerasKilaniBBC) January 8, 2020

Why are markets sliding on the news? Because contrary to the carefully built narrative that the US and Iran have become nothing short of BBF, the risk for re-escalation remains huge. As Stratfor notes, Iraq, in particular, could present a theater for action, as Iranian-allied Iraqi militias have also been galvanized by the recent U.S. strikes and likely will be keen to seek retribution.

If an attack by those militias kills a U.S. soldier or contractor in Iraq or Syria, the risks of escalation to a direct military exchange between the United States and Iran would again climb. After all, the United States will hold Iran responsible for the actions of some of its allied militias, especially the mostly Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq.

Then there are the old standby reasons: beyond strictly escalatory military exchanges, Iran’s continued development of its nuclear program and its  removal of limitations on enrichment and stockpiling significantly elevates the potential for longer-term military confrontation. And although Iran insists that the periodic acceleration it has undertaken with its nuclear program is reversible, the United States and Israel will be more likely to seriously consider military strikes against Iran’s nuclear program to ensure Iran does not approach a nuclear weapons breakout stage too closely.

As such, contrary to the desires of bullish daytraders, the existence of these triggers for potential escalation and the atmosphere of tension that will linger between the two adversaries keeps the long-term risk of a military confrontation alive, even if their current face-off goes no further. It also explains why the market’s selloff was so swift in the last minutes of trading.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/stocks-suddenly-tumble-after-green-zone-explosion-headline

***Support BeforeItsNews by trying APeX (far superior to colloidal silver) or any of our four other great health products at www.mitocopper.com ***