SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States has committed nearly $20 million in support to help the Iraqi government secure the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, according to the U.S. embassy.
The U.S. embassy said in a post to its official Facebook account that the support included funding for a civil engineer team to conduct a thorough survey of the existing access points to the green zone and to develop plans for new gates.
U.S. Embassy’s senior defense official Brigadier General John Teichert presented a final report from the survey team to Iraqi commander of the Special Command Division Major General Hamid Mahdi al-Zuhair.
“This handover is an important milestone in the ongoing cooperative project to strengthen the security of Baghdad’s International Zone and to secure the Iraqi seat of government,” the embassy said.
Last month, the United States provided 30 armored vehicles to the Iraqi military to assist in securing the Green Zone.
The heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings, the U.S. embassy and other foreign missions, has been attacked by Katyusha rockets recently.
A volley of rockets exploded near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on December 20, as tensions mount ahead of the anniversary of the U.S. killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi soil.
Washington blames Iran-backed militias for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility.
