“It seems we're back to last year”, a senior US military

Shafaq News/ A US military official warned, on Wednesday, of the escalation of Rockets attacks against Western influence in Iraq returning the situation to the past year incidents.

"It seems we're back to last year," a senior US military official in Iraq told AFP, referring to several months in 2020 when rockets rained down on American sites once a week or more.

On Monday, two rockets hit near the US embassy in Baghdad, days after a volley hit an airbase further north where a US military contractor is maintaining F-16 fighter-jets purchased from Washington.

"All indications are it's the same style of attacks," said the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And intelligence shared with us says there are more to come."

Both local and international dynamics may have prompted the resumed attacks.

The US military official said that, in talks with Washington, "we've provided options, including striking inside and outside of Iraq, but we haven't heard yet from the new administration".

Rockets also hit a military complex in the Kurdish region's capital Erbil on February 15, killing a civilian and a foreign contractor working with US-led troops.

The Pentagon said the Rockets used in the Erbil attack are of Iranian origin.

the pro-Iran groups typically blamed for such attacks including Kata’ib Hezbollah have been quick to condemn the strikes.