India, March 14 -- A missile strike hit the US Embassy in Baghdad, sending smoke billowing from the diplomatic compound in the Iraqi capital, according to media reports.

An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the attack destroyed part of the embassy's air defence system, though further details were not immediately available.

According to reports, the missile struck a helipad inside the embassy compound.

Preliminary reports indicated that the strike may have involved a suicide drone or a rocket that managed to bypass the compound's defence perimeters.

Sources cited by IraqiNews.com said the attack may have disabled or severely damaged the C-RAM (Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar) defence system, as no interceptio...