Hotel in Iraqi capital Baghdad struck as attacks on US embassy intercepted

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took place amid the escalating Israel-US war on Iran.Published On 16 Mar 2026A prominent hotel in central Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone was struck by a drone, amid reports that Iraqi air defences intercepted an attack over the United States Embassy.The strike on Monday evening hit the top floor of Al-Rasheed Hotel, causing damage but no casualties, according to two Iraqi security officials cited by The Associated Press (AP) news agency.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq attacked with missile that hits helipadlist 2 of 3French soldier killed and others wounded in attack in Iraqlist 3 of 3Four killed in US military plane crash in Iraqend of listNo group has claimed responsibility for the attack.Security sources told the Reuters news agency that two Katyusha rockets had been intercepted that evening near the US Embassy in the Green Zone, which houses diplomatic missions as well as international institutions and government offices.Earlier Monday, the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah announced that Abu Ali Al-Askari, a prominent security official with the paramilitary group, had been killed, without giving details on the circumstances.Kataib Hezbollah is one of the largest groups in the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) operating in Iraq, which was founded in 2014 to stop lightning advances by ISIL (ISIS).On the same day, AP reported that six PMF fighters were killed in a strike on a checkpoint in western Iraq’s Anbar province, and two others were killed in a separate strike on the headquarters of a PMF brigade in the same area.Two Iraqi security officials told AP that the Majnoon oilfield in Iraq’s southern Basra province was targeted by two drones. No casualties were reported, and it was not immediately clear if there was damage to the facilities.Iraq’s oil industry has been severely impacted by the US and Israel’s war on Iran and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil trading corridor.