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Protesters chanting ‘Death to America’ attempt to storm U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Protesters chanting ‘Death to America’ attempt to storm U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
(about 1 hour later)
BAGHDAD — Hundreds of angry supporters of an Iranian-backed militia shouting "Death to America" attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, trapping diplomats inside in response to U.S. airstrikes that killed or wounded scores of militia fighters. BAGHDAD — Hundreds of angry supporters of an Iranian-backed militia shouting "Death to America" attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, trapping diplomats inside in response to U.S. airstrikes that killed or wounded scores of militia fighters.
A spokesman for the Kataib Hezbollah militia said the intent is for the demonstrators to lay siege to the embassy until the facility shuts down and U.S. diplomats leave Iraq. President Trump responded angrily Tuesday to the protesters' action, charging that Iran was behind a deadly militia attack that led to the airstrikes and blaming Tehran for the embassy siege.
"Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many," Trump tweeted from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. "We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!"
A spokesman for the Kataib Hezbollah militia said the demonstrators intend to besiege the embassy until the facility shuts down and U.S. diplomats leave Iraq.
But the angry demonstrators defied appeals delivered over loudspeakers by the group’s leaders not to enter the embassy and smashed their way into one of the facility’s reception areas, breaking down fortified doors and bulletproof glass and setting fire to the room.But the angry demonstrators defied appeals delivered over loudspeakers by the group’s leaders not to enter the embassy and smashed their way into one of the facility’s reception areas, breaking down fortified doors and bulletproof glass and setting fire to the room.
The protesters also smashed security cameras, set fire to two guardrooms and burned tires, blanketing the area in dense smoke. American guards inside the embassy fired tear gas to keep the militia supporters at bay. U.S. troops could be seen nearby and on rooftops, their weapons drawn, but they did not open fire. Embassy civil defense workers just inside the gates attempted to put out the fires with water hoses.
Embassy civil defense workers could be seen beyond the gates attempting to put out one of the fires, as Iraqi security forces, who had made no attempt to prevent demonstrators from reaching the embassy, began to intervene to try to prevent them from going further inside the vast embassy compound. The protesters also smashed security cameras, set two guardrooms ablaze and burned tires. They made a bonfire out of a pile of papers and military MREs (meals ready to eat) found in the reception area, where guards normally search visitors. Kataib Hezbollah flags were draped over the barbed wire protecting the embassy’s high walls.
The embassy lies inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, which is normally off limits to civilians. But earlier in the morning, hundreds of people walked unimpeded into the zone to join the demonstrations, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” The embassy’s sirens wailed continually as dense black smoke billowed into the air.
Some protesters began erecting tents nearby, indicating that they intend to remain for the long haul. Jaafar al-Husseini, a Kataib Hezbollah spokesman, said the group plans to encamp outside the embassy until it closes, a scenario with ominous echoes of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Iraqi security forces, who had initially made no attempt to prevent the demonstrators from attacking the embassy, took steps to prevent them going farther inside the facility only after an Iraqi army commander arrived and ordered them to do so. By early afternoon, the Iraqi security forces had formed a buffer between the demonstrators and the embassy guards.
U.S. Embassy officials did not respond to requests for comment. The embassy compound lies inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, which is normally off limits to ordinary people. But earlier in the morning, thousands of people walked unimpeded into the zone to join the demonstrations, as many Iraqi security forces simply mingled with the crowd.
Their chants of “Death to America” carried echoes of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, when Iranian students seized control of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and detained American diplomats and other personnel there for 444 days.
Many were wearing militia uniforms and carried flags signifying their allegiance to the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, which had vowed to retaliate for the U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 militia members.
Among the crowd were some of Iran’s most powerful allies in Iraq, including Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr Organization; Qais al-Khazali, who heads the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia and was once imprisoned by the U.S. military; and Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, who spent years in prison in Kuwait for bombing the U.S. Embassy there.
The demonstrators daubed graffiti on the embassy walls signifying their allegiance to Iran: the names of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and powerful Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Other slogans simply read: “America get out.”
Some protesters began erecting tents nearby, indicating that they intend to remain for the long haul. Jaafar al-Husseini, a Kataib Hezbollah spokesman, said the group plans to encamp outside the embassy until it closes and all U.S. diplomats and troops leave Iraq.
U.S. Embassy officials did not respond to requests for comment, and it was not immediately clear how many U.S. diplomats or troops are trapped inside the compound, the largest U.S. diplomatic facility in the world. Opened with much fanfare over a decade ago as a symbol of American influence in Iraq, on Tuesday it seemed as much a symbol vulnerability of the United States in an Iraq in which it now has few friends.
The demonstration comes amid an outpouring of rage in Iraq directed against the United States for carrying out airstrikes Sunday against Kataib Hezbollah bases near the Iraqi-Syrian border. The strikes were in response to the death of an American contractor in a rocket attack last Friday on a base housing U.S. troops in Kirkuk. The United States blamed the rocket attack on the Iranian-backed group.The demonstration comes amid an outpouring of rage in Iraq directed against the United States for carrying out airstrikes Sunday against Kataib Hezbollah bases near the Iraqi-Syrian border. The strikes were in response to the death of an American contractor in a rocket attack last Friday on a base housing U.S. troops in Kirkuk. The United States blamed the rocket attack on the Iranian-backed group.
U.S. officials said the airstrikes were “defensive” and aimed at deterring further rocket attacks against U.S. personnel by Iranian allies in Lebanon. U.S. officials said the airstrikes were “defensive” and aimed at deterring further rocket attacks against U.S. personnel by Iranian allies in Iraq.
But in Iraq they have been interpreted as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and of the rules governing the presence of the approximately 5,000 U.S. troops based there to help Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State. But in Iraq they have been widely denounced as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and of the rules governing the presence of the approximately 5,000 U.S. troops based there to help in the fight against the Islamic State.
The embassy compound is the largest U.S. diplomatic facility in the world and was opened with much fanfare over a decade ago as a symbol of American influence in Iraq. But on Tuesday, it seemed as much a symbol of the vulnerability of the United States in an Iraq in which it now has few allies.
Sly reported from Beirut.Sly reported from Beirut.
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