Rocket attack hits near US Embassy in Baghdad's Green

A rocket crashed Sunday night in the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling US Embassy, an Iraqi military spokesman said.

The apparent attack, which Iraq's state-run news agency said did not cause any casualties, came amid heightened tensions across the Persian Gulf, after the White House ordered warships and bombers to the region earlier this month to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran.

The US also has ordered nonessential staff out of its diplomatic posts in Iraq.

Associated Press reporters on the east side of the Tigris River, opposite the Green Zone, heard an explosion, after which alert sirens sounded briefly in Baghdad.

Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul told The Associated Press that a Katyusha rocket fell near the statue of the Unknown Soldier, less than a mile from the US Embassy.

He said the military is investigating the cause but that the rocket was believed to have been fired from east ...