Sirens heard at US Embassy in Iraq - report

The event came within a half hour of reports that the United States and Britain had begun striking Houthi targets in Yemen, and if it was indeed an attack, it was presumably an act of retaliation. 

 An Iraqi woman walks along a street during high temperatures in Baghdad, Iraq, July 20, 2022. (photo credit: REUTERS/SABA KAREEM)
An Iraqi woman walks along a street during high temperatures in Baghdad, Iraq, July 20, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/SABA KAREEM)

Sirens were heard at the US Embassy in Iraq Thursday night, according to reports on social media.

Reports of a bomb, shared at about 02:00 Israel time in The Jerusalem Post's sister publication Maariv, could not be confirmed as of later that night and appear to have been unsubstantiated. 

The reports came after the US and Britain struck dozens of targets across Yemen, according to some reports, ranging from training bases to drone facilities. 

 Supporters of Yemen's Houthis hold a poster of the top Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badruddin al-Houthi during a rally in Sanaa in September 2021. (credit: REUTERS)
Supporters of Yemen's Houthis hold a poster of the top Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badruddin al-Houthi during a rally in Sanaa in September 2021. (credit: REUTERS)

Iranian-backed groups had warned they would respond to attacks on Houthis

It was believed to be the first time the United States had struck the Houthis since 2016, following months of attacks by the Iranian-backed rebel group against ships in the Red Sea that the group considered linked to Israel. 

Reliable information on the events in Iraq was sparse, but the preliminary reports came after a previous warning by Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq that they would attack an American base with "everything in [their] power" should the US hit Houthi targets.