Iraqi protesters attack US embassy in Baghdad: Staff are evacuated as mob storms complex burning flags and chanting ‘death to America’ over air strikes on Hezbollah that killed 25
- Mourners held funerals for the fighters of the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah before rushing through the heavily fortified Green Zone, burning US flags as they headed towards the consulate
- They pulled security cameras off the wall, yelling ‘Down, down USA,’ as Iraqi security forces tried to hold them
- Security guards were seen retreating inside the embassy as protesters hurled water bottles and smashed security cameras outside the buildings
- Footage showed a rapidly deteriorating scene as protesters set fire to barricades surrounding the consulate compound and hurling rocks over the walls
- It comes after US fighter jets decimated three locations in Iraq on Sunday night, in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack in the region
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Several thousand protesters have stormed the US embassy in Baghdad, setting fire to barricades and chanting ‘death to America’ after air strikes on Hezbollah that killed 25.
The US ambassador and other staff have been evacuated with a few protection staff remaining at the compound as thousands gathered outside the main gate on Tuesday.
Mourners held funerals for the fighters of the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah before rushing through the heavily fortified Green Zone, burning US flags as they headed towards the consulate.
They pulled security cameras off the wall, yelling ‘Down, down USA,’ as Iraqi security forces tried to keep them back.
Footage showed a rapidly deteriorating scene as protesters set fire to barricades surrounding the consulate compound and hurling rocks.
It comes after US fighter jets decimated three locations in Iraq on Sunday night, in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack in the region.
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Protesters are seen hurling rocks and setting fire to barricades outside the US embassy in Baghdad in chilling scenes on Tuesday over fury at US strikes on Kataeb Hezbollah
Hundreds of protesters are seen on the streets leading to the embassy waving flags and chanting ‘Death to America’
Sky News Arabia showed protesters swarming outside the US embassy on Tuesday after funerals were held for 25 fighters of the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah
Protesters and militia fighters gather to condemn air strikes outside the US embassy on Tuesday
Protesters burn representations of a U.S. flag during a protest against the U.S. strikes on the Hezbollah Brigades militia, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Iraq, Monday
The US attack – the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in recent years – and the calls for retaliation represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the US and Iran playing out in the Middle East.
Security guards were seen retreating inside the embassy as protesters hurled water bottles and smashed security cameras outside the buildings.
Protesters also hung yellow flags belonging to the Kataeb Hezbollah militia backed by Iran on the walls of the embassy.
Reporters said they then saw the masses trying to storm the embassy, shouting ‘Down, down USA!’ and ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel.’
Security guards were seen retreating to the inside of the embassy. Protesters also were seen hanging yellow flags belonging to the Kataeb Hezbollah militia backed by Iran on the walls of the embassy.
On Sunday night, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the strikes send the message that the U.S. will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardize American lives.
The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia had vowed Monday to retaliate for the U.S. military strikes in Iraq and Syria that killed 25 of its fighters and wounded dozens.
The attack and vows for revenge raised concerns of new attacks that could threaten American interests in the region.
The U.S. attack outraged both the militias and the Iraqi government which said it will reconsider its relationship with the U.S.-led coalition – the first time it has said it will do so since an agreement was struck to keep some U.S. troops in the country.
It called the attack a ‘flagrant violation’ of its sovereignty.
These images depict what the U.S. military says are bases of the Kataib Hezbollah militia group that were struck by U.S. forces, in the city of Al-Qa’im, Iraq
The US fighter jets came in retaliation for 30-plus rocket attack on Friday that killed a US civilian contractor and injured four US service members and two members of the Iraqi Security Forces near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk
In a partly televised meeting Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi told Cabinet members that he had tried to stop the U.S. operation ‘but there was insistence’ from American officials.
The U.S. military said ‘precision defensive strikes’ were conducted against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and Syria.
The group, which is a separate force from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, operates under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Many of them are supported by Iran.