In a statement, Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the Iraqi premier, said that Sudani had ordered “all security and intelligence agencies to track down and pursue the perpetrators” behind the “repeated unjustified assaults on a number of key sectors, vital facilities, and diplomatic missions,” including the US embassy in Baghdad, the historic al-Rasheed Tulip Hotel in the capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone, as well as the supergiant Majnoon oil field in Iraq’s southernmost Basra province on Monday.
These “terrorist attacks” carry “serious consequences for our country and undermine the government’s efforts toward reconstruction and development,” Numan warned, citing the Iraqi premier as affirming that “the security of the state and the safety of its citizens are a red line that cannot be crossed.”
Sudani further ordered that security and local officials “who failed or neglected their duties within their areas of responsibility be held accountable,” the spokesperson added.
Numan’s statement came amid a series of attacks carried out against the US embassy since Monday. Video footage submitted to Rudaw showed what appeared to be the embassy's C-RAM defense systems intercepting suspected drones.
Footage submitted to Rudaw reportedly shows the moment the US embassy in Baghdad’s C-RAM defense system intercepted a suspected drone early Tuesday, just hours after PM Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani ordered a probe into previous attacks on the American diplomatic mission’s… pic.twitter.com/4vYJxtdJRY
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) March 17, 2026
The attacks came shortly after Kata’ib Hezbollah said on Monday that its spokesperson and senior security official, Abu Ali al-Askari, had been killed. The announcement followed a strike that reportedly targeting one of the group’s positions in Baghdad on Saturday.
Moreover, footage captured by Rudaw’s reporter in Baghdad showed at least five fire trucks rushing to the well-known al-Rasheed Tulip Hotel in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone after a blast was heard.
In a statement, the Iraqi interior ministry said that “civil defense teams responded this evening [Monday] to a projectile that landed on the roof of al-Rasheed [Tulip] Hotel,” noting that “the incident resulted in no human or material damage.”
In a follow-up statement, the ministry added that “on-site and technical inspections conducted by specialized forensic teams… determined that a drone collided with the upper fence of the [Rasheed] hotel,” affirming that “the relevant authorities are continuing their investigative and technical procedures to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and to take the necessary legal measures.”
The ministry further stressed “its continued efforts to protect diplomatic missions and vital facilities, and to pursue anyone attempting to undermine security and stability in the country.”
Of note, Rasheed hotel serves as a key diplomatic hub within Baghdad’s Green Zone, currently housing the headquarters of the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Iraq, along with the embassies of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. It also functions as a secure base for high-level United Nations delegations, international media outlets, and foreign business advisors.
Fire trucks rush to the well-known al‑Rasheed Tulip Hotel in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone after an explosion was heard. pic.twitter.com/DLM8Mhzb6N