The U.S. ambassador to Iraq and other staff were evacuated from their embassy in Baghdad for their safety today as thousands of protesters and militia fighters broke into the US Embassy compound after smashing the main door and setting fire to the options area. Iraqi officials said, outside the embassy, protesters threw stones at the gate while others chanted anti-US slogans. Iraqi special forces were deployed around the main gate to prevent them from entering the embassy.
The embassy attack followed deadly US airstrikes on last Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The US military said the airstrikes were in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has said that Iran would be held responsible for the attack. In a tweet, he said, Iran is orchestrating an attack on the US Embassy in Iraq. He said, Iraq should use its forces to protect the Embassy.
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