SULAIMANI (ESTA) — U.S. President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi discussed recent rocket attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces in a phone call on Tuesday, the White House said.
Biden and Kadhimi agreed that those responsive for the rocket attacks “must be held fully account,” the White House said in a statement.
Three rockets hit Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Monday. The attack caused no casualties, but damaged four vehicles belonging to civilians.
The Green Zone hosts foreign embassies and government buildings and is regularly the target of rockets fired by groups that U.S. and Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran.
Most attacks cause no casualties but the latest incident is the third rocket attack in Iraq in just over a week to target areas hosting U.S. troops, diplomats or contractors, including one that killed at least one non-American civilian working with the U.S.-led coalition.
Kataib Hezbollah, the most high-profile-Iran backed militia in Iraq, denied any role in the rocket attack on Erbil and Baghdad.
“We absolutely did not target Erbil or the Green Zone and have no knowledge of the group that did,” Kataib Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Mohi told Reuters.
In the Feb. 15 attack, rockets hit the U.S. military base housed at Erbil International Airport killing one non-American contractor. Another salvo struck a base hosting U.S. forces north of Baghdad days later hurting at least one contractor.
The White House said Biden and Kadhimi also discussed the importance of advancing the Strategic Dialogue between the two countries and expanding bilateral cooperation on other key issues.
“The President agreed to stay in close touch with the Prime Minister over the coming days and weeks,” the statement read.
“I spoke to @POTUS today.We reaffirmed our commitment to bolstering Iraqi-US ties for the benefit of our peoples and cooperation in fighting Daesh to ensure regional peace and stability. Strategic Dialogue continues to serve as a roadmap for the future,” Kadhimi said in a tweet.
