The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, came under attack on Friday. 

The attack was described in media accounts as a "rocket attack" on American forces and allies in the area.

Green Zone and the U.S Embassy compound in Baghdad , Iraq were under attack within the last hour, 10-12 blasts heard pic.twitter.com/kNFydrq8fk

— Steven Nabil (@thestevennabil) December 8, 2023

You can hear the announcement advising people to "duck and cover" and stay away from the windows and await further instructions. 

Another video depicting the moment of impact of what sounds like an attack (rockets most likely)on the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq pic.twitter.com/JUaziuxK8E

— Steven Nabil (@thestevennabil) December 8, 2023

The attack caused minor damage to the Embassy, officials said, but fortunately, no one was injured. 

Fox's Jennifer Griffin said that she was told by a senior U.S. defense official that it wasn't rockets, but rather seven 60 mm rounds that landed in the U.S. Embassy compound, smaller than what Iranian proxies have been firing at U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria. 

For clarification: a senior U.S. defense official says 7 60 mm mortar rounds were fired at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. There were no injuries and minimal damage to compound.

— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) December 8, 2023

While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, this latest attack on the Embassy and U.S. forces is believed to come from Iranian-aligned militants. 

“We again call on the government of Iraq, as we have done on many occasions, to do all in its power to protect diplomatic and Coalition partner personnel and facilities,” the official told the AP. “We reiterate that we reserve the right to self-defense and to protect our personnel anywhere in the world.” 

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, termed this a "terrorist attack" 

A strongly worded statement from the prime minster of Iraq called the attacks against the U.S Embassy “Terrorist action” and vowed to hunt down the perpetrators. Things are getting heated in Baghdad, the Iranian-controlled Militias are putting the government in a awkward position

— Steven Nabil (@thestevennabil) December 8, 2023

The prime minister declared that “targeting diplomatic missions” like the U.S. embassy “cannot be justified.” He said the attack was an insult to Iraq’s stability and security and promised to “pursue the perpetrators.”

This was the first such attack on the Embassy since the breakout of the Israeli-Hamas war, although there have been many other drone or rocket attacks on American assets in Iraq and Syria since the war broke out. 

Can we hope that we will see a real response to this from the Biden administration? 

Despite there being dozens of attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria that have resulted in dozens of injuries to American troops, there's been minimal response from the Biden team. Their response hasn't seemed to stop the attacks so far. If they want to stop the attacks they have to take some substantial actions that will have some real effect, and they can do that without getting embroiled in a greater war, as former President Donald Trump showed when he took out Qassem Soleimani.