BAGHDAD, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Five rockets attacked Iraq's Baghdad International Airport and its surrounding area on Sunday evening, wounding five people, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command reported.
Saad Maan, head of the command's Security Media Cell, said in a statement that the attack occurred at 7:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT), wounding four airport employees, security personnel and an engineer.
Security forces subsequently launched a search operation and seized the rocket launcher hidden inside a vehicle in the al-Radwaniyah area, west of the capital Baghdad, Maan said.
In response to the attack, orders were issued to dismiss the sector security commanders and intelligence officers in the targeted area, he noted.
"The competent authorities have begun taking the necessary legal measures, while tightening security measures in the vicinity of the targeted areas," Maan added.
The attacks came amid heightened tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests across the Middle East. ■
