SULAIMANI (ESTA) — An improvised explosive device (IED) hit a convoy for a contractor belonging to the U.S.-led Coalition Forces in Diwaniyah province, the Iraqi military said on Friday.
Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement that a driver of the convoy carrying equipment was wounded during the attack, state media INA reported.
“An explosive device exploded at a vehicle of one of the Iraqi companies contracting with the international Coalition Forces, whic was carrying equipment to develop capabilities of the Iraqi security forces,” the Iraqi military said.
The explosion also damaged one of the vehicles, according to the statement.
The attack came after a volley of rockets exploded near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Sunday.
The Iraqi military said that an “outlaw group” fired the rockets at Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings, U.S. Embassy and other foreign missions.
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.
An array of militia groups announced in October that they had suspended rocket attacks on U.S. forces on condition that Iraq’s government present a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.
But a rocket strike on the U.S. Embassy on Nov. 18 was a clear sign that Iranian-backed militias had decided to resume attacks on U.S. bases, according to Iraqi security officials.
The United States, which is slowly reducing its 5,000 troops in Iraq, threatened to shut its embassy unless the Iraqi government reins in Iran-aligned militias.
