Iraq Military: Rocket Hits Area Near Baghdad Airport

A rocket has landed in an area near Baghdad International Airport, the Iraqi military says.

 

The rocket was launched on Monday night from an area to the south of the airport, the military said.

 

There were no reported damages or casualties. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

 

Separately, A US military plane crashed into an Iraqi military base north of the capital on Monday without causing fatalities, the US-led coalition said.

 

The crash of the C130 in Iraq’s Camp Taji injured four servicemen and was deemed an accident, spokesman for the US-led coalition Myles Caggins told the Associated Press.

 

Caggins said the plane had overshot the runway and crashed into a wall resulting in damage to the aircraft and a small fire.

 

Four service members on the plane sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are being treated at Camp Taji’s medical facility,” Caggins said in a statement after the incident. “Enemy activity is not suspected; the incident remains under investigation.”

 

There were seven crew members and 26 passengers aboard the flight, Iraqi official said. Among the injured were two pilots. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

 

In March, two Americans and one British soldier were killed following a barrage of rockets on Camp Taji.

 

US forces must immediately leave Iraq: Sadr

 

Meanwhile, influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has once again called for the full withdrawal of American troops from the Arab country’s territory and that of other regional states.

 

In a statement on Monday, al-Sadr criticized the US for its arrogant approach toward other countries, saying Washington tries to force everyone into surrender through acts of terrorism, warmongering, intimidation, and levelling baseless charges against others.

 

The US needs to change its hostile and arrogant behavior toward the people of other countries, and withdraw all its troops from their territories, especially those of Iraq.

 

Anti-US sentiment has been running high in Iraq following Washington’s January 3 assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and senior Hashd al-Sha’abi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in addition to several other comrades, outside the Baghdad airport.

 

Iraqi resistance groups have vowed to avenge the assassinations, but denied any role in such rocket attacks.

 

Two days after the assassinations, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution that called for an end to the presence of all foreign forces, including the Americans.

 

Washington, however, has threatened sanctions should US troops be expelled from Iraq instead of ending the occupation of the Arab country.

 

Source: Press TV