BAGHDAD, 21 December, 2020, (TON): Eight rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone late Sunday, Iraq's military and Iraqi officials said, sparking fears of renewed unrest as next month's anniversary of the U.S. slaying of an Iranian general draws near.

According to a statement by Iraqi military “an outlawed group” launched eight rockets targeting the Green Zone, injuring one Iraqi security person manning a checkpoint and causing material damage to some cars and the residential complex.The US Embassy said minor damage was caused to the embassy compound but that there were no injuries or casualties.

In a statement released, the US Embassy in Baghdad said Sunday's rocket attack "resulted in engagement of Embassy defensive systems."

Witnesses in Baghdad said the C-RAM defense system installed at the US Embassy was activated to intercept incoming rockets. Video on social media showed tracers from the C-RAM in the skies over the Green Zone.

 “We call on all Iraqi political and governmental leaders to take steps to prevent such attacks and hold accountable those responsible,” the statement said.

The C-RAM system was installed by the U.S. over the summer as armed groups stepped up rocket attacks targeting the embassy and its premises.

The U.S. withdrew some staff from its embassy in Baghdad earlier this month, temporarily reducing personnel ahead of the first anniversary of the U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s top general, Qassim Soleimani, outside Baghdad's airport on 3^rd January. Soleimani’s killing sparked outrage and led Iraq’s parliament to pass a non-binding resolution days later, calling for the expulsion of all foreign troops from Iraq.

In Iraq, the US plans to reduce the number of troops from 3,000 to 2,500 by mid-January, before Trump is to leave office. But the frequency of rocket attacks in Iraq has frustrated the Trump administration.

A spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic of Iraq issued a written statement saying "targeting the Green Zone is a terrorist act that endangers the security and lives of innocent citizens and their property.

"It represents a targeting of the country's sovereignty and national efforts to preserve the state's prestige," the statement said. "Targeting diplomatic missions undermines Iraq's international reputation and its foreign relations."

The Green Zone is an area of Iraq's capital city where the embassies of several western countries are located. It is largely viewed as a safe location, but is frequently the target of rocket attacks. Rockets have previously been fired at the Green Zone to protest the US troop presence in Iraq.