BAGHDAD, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Friday evening seized a vehicle carrying a rocket launcher in western Baghdad after several rockets were fired near Baghdad International Airport, authorities said.
A statement from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command's Security Media Cell said the rockets landed in unpopulated areas, causing no casualties or significant damage. Technical teams dealt with additional rockets found inside the vehicle, and an "immediate and urgent investigation" has been launched.
Separately, an armed group calling itself "Guardians of Blood," affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body for pro-Iranian militias, claimed responsibility for an attack targeting the "U.S. Victoria Base" at the airport.
On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad issued a security alert warning that Iran-aligned militia groups "may seek to target hotels frequented by foreigners in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region." It also urged the U.S. citizens to leave Iraq.
The incidents come amid heightened regional tensions following a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran last Saturday, which Iran responded to with missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. assets across the Middle East. ■
