Five missiles targeted the US Embassy in Baghdad Jan. 27, with one missile striking the inside of the reinforced embassy in the Iraqi government’s Green Zone.

It is not unusual for missiles to fall near the surroundings of the embassy. But this attack was different in that it targeted the inside of the embassy’s restaurant and hit five people whose nationalities and occupations remain unknown. Oddly, armed Shiite factions rushed to deny involvement in the operation.

Sources close to some factions of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) told Al-Monitor, “Shiite factions are working on avoiding a direct clash with Americans at the moment, and they are waiting for the political and governmental stance vis-a-vis expelling the US troops. However, it does not mean they did not target Americans in the past few weeks. They just decided not to announce it to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi government.”

The sources added, “The factions, especially those who are engaged in political work, do not want to risk their interests and gains. They wish to settle matters politically and not resort to military solutions.”