Rockets hit Iraq military complex housing US forces

Several rockets slammed into an Iraqi military complex that hosts US forces next to Baghdad International Airport on Monday, wounding six Iraqi troops, the military said.

Security forces found launchers with rockets that had not been fired properly, indicating a larger attack was planned, a military statement said.

It is the latest in an uptick in rocket attacks targeting either Iraqi bases where American troops are located or the US embassy in Baghdad. US defence officials have blamed several on Iran-backed factions in Iraq.

Security sources told AFP that the wounded in Monday's attack belong to Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service, an elite unit that was created and trained by US forces.

Two of them are in critical condition, the sources said.

The military complex also hosts a small group of US soldiers and American diplomats. There have been at least nine attacks against US targets in Iraq in the span of six weeks.