Threat from Iran to U.S. forces in Iraq remains 'significant'

Iranian-backed militia pose a continuing and "significant" threat to U.S. forces in Iraq, the State Department's top diplomat for the Middle East said on Thursday, about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of a sneak attack by Iran or its proxies.

Speaking to reporters in a teleconference, David Schenker, assistant secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. State Department, did not give any details about the threat. "It continues to be significant," he said. Iran-backed paramilitary groups have regularly been rocketing and shelling bases in Iraq that host U.S. forces and the area around the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Schenker's comments came after three Katyushka rockets landed near a district in southern Iraq that houses workers for foreign oil companies on Monday, including U.S. oil service company Halliburton. No casualties or damage were reported.