Missiles strike near US Embassy in Baghdad, rockets hit air base hosting US troops

Two missiles struck in close proximity of the US embassy in Baghdad while rockets hit a US airbase near the Iraqi capital on Saturday, a day after a US drone strike eliminated top Iran commander General Qassem Soleimani.

The strikes took place in the Green Zone, the high-security enclave where the US embassy is based, media reported. The Iraqi military said one projectile hit inside the zone, while another landed close to the enclave.

A pair of rockets also struck the Al-Balad Air Force Base hosting US troops.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had vowed revenge after Suleimani's killing.

The US embassy in Baghdad had urged American citizens in Iraq to immediately leave the country. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had slammed Soleimani's assassination as "an extremely dangerous and foolish escalation".