Katyusha missile lands near US forces in Mosul in fresh rocket attack

The source said the rocket was a "locally made" short-range Katyusha missile fired from west Mosul, across the Tigris river.

Xinhua also reported that the rocket has landed on the complex of the former presidential palace in Mosul.

Security sources separately told Reuters that two Katyusha rockets had landed on the base.

Meanwhile, Commander of Nineveh's Operations Command, Nouman al-Zobaie, said in a statement that a rocket was fired from the edge of the western side of Mosul and landed on an empty area far away from one of the security headquarters in the eastern side of the city, without causing casualties.

The situation in the city is under control, al-Zobaie said, adding that the troops found the rocket launcher in the western side of the city.

On Monday, three Katyusha rockets landed on a military base in the evening on Camp Taji, a military base some 20 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, which also houses a base of US forces.

Earlier on Friday night, unknown militants launched three mortar shells into an air base just north of the capital Baghdad, where American trainers are present.

The military said in a statement that the attack on Balad Air Base, located 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of Baghdad, took place early on Saturday and caused small fires in bushes on the base.

The Friday attack came two days after the Iraqi satellite television channel Afaq TV, citing a report published by Arabic-language Ababeel news agency, said  several explosions had been heard near the US embassy in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone.

The report said the diplomatic mission sounded sirens following the blasts, which rocked areas adjacent to its premises.

The US invaded Iraq in 2003, claiming that then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and sought to use them against the US. Combat forces pulled out of the country in 2011, nominally ending the war. However, thousands of American and other troops remain in the country to allegedly provide logistics and training to Iraqi forces.

Many politicians across Iraq’s political landscape have questioned the foreign military presence in the country over the years. Calls for a withdrawal of foreign forces have grown following the defeat of the Daesh terrorist group in Iraq in 2018.