Mortar shells land near JOC headquarters in the Green Zone 

Shafaq News / Mortar shells landed near one of the Joint Operations Command's headquarters in the Green Zone, Baghdad, a security source reported. 

No further details were disclosed. 

Several explosions were heard in the Green Zone, Baghdad.

A security source told Shafaq News agency that the sound is most likely caused by the RPG projectiles used in the clashes taking place in the Green Zone. 

At least five mortar shells targeted the vicinity of the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone, Baghdad, a security source reported.

The source told Shafaq News agency that violent armed clashes are already taking place in the Green Zone, where protestors are using RPGs, PKC guns and Kalashnikov rifles.

Five protestors were killed and 50 others (including members of the security forces) were wounded in Baghdad on Monday after a decision by Iraq's powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to quit politics over a political deadlock prompted clashes between his supporters and backers of Iran-backed rivals. 

The Dutch embassy, located in the Green Zone, was evacuated due to the recent escalation, and its employees are currently hosted by the German embassy in al-Mansour area.