U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday, as he tours the Middle East attempting to tamp down tensions after war erupted between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas last month.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a plane, en route to Cyprus, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 5, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/PoolBAGHDAD, Nov 5 - , Blinken landed in Baghdad on Sunday evening for his first visit to the country as the U.S. top diplomat and held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani.
Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah issued a warning on Saturday night that the expected Blinken visit would be met with "an unprecedented escalation." U.S. defense officials say rocket and drone attacks on U.S. and coalition troops have stepped up in Iraq and Syria since Hamas' deadly attacks on Oct. 7 sparked an intensive Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Iraqi armed groups aligned with Iran have threatened to target U.S. interests with missiles and drones if Washington intervened to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza. Al Sudani has pledged to pursue the perpetrators of rocket attacks on three military bases in Iraq hosting international coalition advisers, including Ain al-Asad in western Iraq, a military base near Baghdad's international airport and Harir in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.
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