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Militia supporters chanting ‘Death to America’ break into U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad Militia supporters chanting ‘Death to America’ break into U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad
(8 days later)
Supporters of an Iranian-backed militia besieged the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes, breaking through the first layer of security at the embassy compound and damaging a reception area before being expelled by Iraqi security forces. Here’s what we know: BAGHDAD — Thousands of angry supporters of an Iranian-backed militia chanting "Death to America" stormed entrances to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, laying bare the fragility of the U.S. presence in Iraq despite hundreds of billions of dollars and 17 years of investment in the country.
●The U.S. Defense Department is sending two Apache helicopters and a “small contingent” of Marines to reinforce security at the embassy. Members of the U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces stood by as supporters of the Kataib Hezbollah militia surged into the usually heavily guarded Green Zone, breached the main embassy reception area and set it on fire.
●President Trump accused Iran of “orchestrating an attack” on the embassy, where protesters ransacked a reception area and set fires. They hung the flags of their militia on the barbed wire protecting the compound, daubed pro-Iranian slogans on its walls and tossed molotov cocktails onto its lawns. “America is the Great Satan,” they chanted, and “Death to America” — slogans that echoed those of the Iranian revolutionaries who held U.S. diplomats hostage in Tehran 40 years ago.
●Iraqi security forces later intervened and set up a barricade, but protesters threw gasoline bombs into the compound. The demonstrators then set up tents to camp outside for the night, saying they would not leave until all U.S. diplomats and troops had pulled out of Iraq.
●The Kataib Hezbollah militia vowed to force the embassy to shut down, and protesters set up tents outside the gates as night fell. As diplomats and staffers huddled together in a fortified safe room inside the embassy compound, the stage seemed to have been set for a potentially long siege that leaves the United States with little room for maneuver.
BAGHDAD — Hundreds of angry supporters of an Iranian-backed militia shouting "Death to America" broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, trapping diplomats inside in response to U.S. airstrikes that killed or wounded scores of militia fighters. The Pentagon dispatched about 100 Marines and two Apache helicopters to reinforce security at the embassy, which was opened with much fanfare a little over a decade ago as the biggest and most heavily fortified U.S. embassy in the world, a symbol of America’s vast new influence in Iraq as well as of the threats that have always stalked its presence.
The protesters breached the vast embassy compound's outer security but did not reach the main chancery building. President Trump was defiant, tweeting angrily that Iran was responsible for the siege, because it backed the militia.
Iraqi security forces later intervened, erecting a steel barrier at the smashed gate into the compound's reception area and forcing the protesters to leave. However, protesters remained outside the gates, taunting the guards inside with chants denouncing America, attempting to tear down razor wire atop the compound's walls and tossing molotov cocktails over them. “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!”
After darkness fell, some of the protesters stormed and burned the embassy's second reception gate, as others set up tents for the night beside the embassy gates. They vowed to stay until all U.S. troops and diplomats leave Iraq. But Tuesday’s events instead seemed to reveal the extent to which Iran emerged ascendant from the aftermath of the U.S. invasion as the chief influencer in Iraq.
They did not, however, enter the sprawling embassy compound, where diplomats and embassy staff sought refuge in a reinforced safe room. The day began with supporters of the Kataib Hezbollah militia converging on the embassy compound to protest the killing of 25 fighters in U.S. airstrikes Sunday. The strikes were carried out in response to the death of the U.S. contractor in a rocket attack against a military base in Kirkuk that the United States blamed on Kataib Hezbollah.
President Trump responded angrily Tuesday to the protesters' actions, charging that Iran was behind a deadly militia attack that led to the airstrikes and blaming Tehran for the embassy siege. Senior Iranian, Iraqi commanders killed in Baghdad airstrike, according to Iraqi state TV
"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 militia said the intent was for the demonstrators to lay siege to the embassy until the facility shuts down and U.S. diplomats leave Iraq.
He added later in a separate tweet: "To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don't want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!" But the demonstrators nonetheless smashed their way into one of the facility’s heavily guarded reception areas, breaking down armored doors and bulletproof glass before setting fire to the room.
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said the Pentagon has taken "appropriate force-protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats" in Iraq "and to ensure our right of self-defense." He added in a statement: "We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy." American guards inside the embassy fired tear gas to keep the militia supporters at bay, and U.S. troops could be seen nearby and on rooftops, their weapons drawn. Embassy civil-defense workers just inside the gates attempted to put out the fires with water hoses.
As the chaos erupted, U.S. military officials were left to determine how to respond without further inflaming the situation. They settled on dispatching two of the Army's Apache gunship helicopters to provide overwatch and security, and deploying scores of Marines from a crisis-response unit in Kuwait to reinforce those already guarding the embassy. The demonstrators 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 and X-ray visitors.
Why Iraq is at the center of the dispute between Iran and the United States The embassy’s sirens wailed as the fires sent dense black smoke billowing over the compound.
Earlier, angry demonstrators defied appeals delivered over loudspeakers by the group’s leaders not to enter the embassy compound 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 Marine Corps released photographs of the reinforcement unit deploying from Kuwait in the dark aboard MV-22 Osprey aircraft. The Marines are assigned to a task force that the service created in the wake of the 2012 attack on diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, and are primarily infantrymen.
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. Later in the day, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said he had authorized the Army to deploy about 750 additional soldiers to the region in “an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities, such as we witnessed in Baghdad today.”
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 razor wire protecting the embassy’s high walls. The soldiers are from an “immediate response force” with the 82nd Airborne Division designed to deploy quickly in response to crises.
The embassy’s sirens wailed continually as dense black smoke billowed into the air. After Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone with Iraq’s acting prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, the threat of an imminent invasion of the embassy eased. An Iraqi army commander told the Iraqi security forces to prevent demonstrators from entering the compound. Abdul Mahdi issued a statement appealing for calm, and the security forces formed a cordon to prevent any further incursions.
Inside the embassy, U.S. diplomats and embassy staffers were huddled in a fortified safe room, according to two reached by a messaging app. They declined to give details but added that they felt secure. But the demonstrators remained outside the embassy gates, denouncing America, attempting to tear down razor wire atop the compound’s walls and tossing molotov cocktails over them.
By early afternoon, tensions had eased somewhat after an Iraqi army commander showed up and ordered Iraqi security forces, who had initially made no attempt to intervene, to prevent the demonstrators going farther inside the facility. The security forces formed an impromptu buffer between the demonstrators and the American guards inside. The U.S. diplomats and embassy staffers inside the safe room felt secure, according to two reached by a messaging app. They declined to give details.
Shortly after that, acting Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi appealed for calm and urged the demonstrators to refrain from entering the compound. He said in a statement that it is the government’s responsibility to protect foreign embassies. It was unclear how many U.S. officials were in the compound. Officials have given different estimates of the number of American full-time staffers in Iraq, ranging from 300 to 352, but have not provided a breakdown of their locations.
U.S. Ambassador Matt Tueller is out of the country on previously scheduled personal travel but plans to return, a State Department official said.
In an interview with Fox News, Pompeo said there were no plans to evacuate diplomats from Baghdad or to withdraw any of the 5,000 troops in the country.
“We’re going to make sure that we do everything we can to keep that facility safe and secure and have the resources to push back against anything that may confront us there,” he said.
In a separate interview with CBS News, Pompeo said he had repeatedly pressed Iraqi officials in phone calls Tuesday to live up to their responsibility to protect U.S. facilities.
These 3 pro-Iran militia leaders are rabble-rousing protesters at the U.S. Embassy in BaghdadThese 3 pro-Iran militia leaders are rabble-rousing protesters at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Abdul Mahdi and Iraqi President Barham Salih separately by phone Tuesday and “made clear the United States will protect and defend its people, who are there to support a sovereign and independent Iraq,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. “Both Abdul Mahdi and Salih assured the secretary that they took seriously their responsibility for, and would guarantee the safety and security of, U.S. personnel and property,” she said. But as the day wore on it became increasingly unclear whether the United States could safely retain a diplomatic and military presence in Iraq without embarking on a wholesale confrontation with the militia — and its Iranian backers — now effectively besieging the embassy.
The State Department said later that “U.S. personnel are secure” and that “there are no plans” to evacuate the embassy. U.S. Ambassador Matt Tueller was away on previously scheduled personal travel and is returning to the embassy, it said. Iraqi leaders, political figures and clerics have universally condemned the U.S. airstrikes that prompted the assault on the embassy, a situation Iran appears to be intent on exploiting, said a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Douglas A. Silliman.
In his statement announcing the dispatch of reinforcements to the embassy, Esper noted: “As in all countries, we rely on host nation forces to assist in the protection of our personnel in country, and we call on the Government of Iraq to fulfill its international responsibilities to do so.” Tuesday’s protests, Silliman said, seemed to reflect an effort by “pro-Iranian elements to try to take advantage of what they’re going to define as a disproportionate American response to the killing of an American military contractor and to Iraqi police officials.” He added, “This is not a massive popular anti-American demonstration.”
Marines from the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group are tasked with guarding U.S. embassies around the world. The additional Marines heading to Baghdad will reinforce those who were already there guarding the embassy. Rather, he said in an interview in Washington, it “appears to be an attempt by Iran and pro-Iran factions in Iraq to take pressure off of themselves,” because demonstrations in the past few months “have been anti-Iranian and anti-government-corruption and anti-militia.”
To former U.S. ambassador to Iraq Douglas A. Silliman, Tuesday’s protests appeared to reflect an effort by “pro-Iranian elements to try to take advantage of what they’re going to define as a disproportionate American response to the killing of an American military contractor and to Iraqi police officials.” He added, “This is not a massive popular anti-American demonstration.” The ease with which the demonstrators reached the embassy underscored, however, how little sway the United States now has over the Iraqi government it installed after 2003 and the security forces it trained.
Rather, he said in an interview in Washington, it “appears to be an attempt by Iran and pro-Iran factions in Iraq to take pressure off of themselves” because massive demonstrations in the past few months “have been anti-Iranian and anti-government corruption and anti-militia.” The embassy compound lies inside the Green Zone, which is normally off limits to ordinary people. But thousands walked unimpeded into the zone to participate in the embassy assault. Iraqi security forces mingled with the crowd, and some joined in. One member of the force that guards the zone’s checkpoints was photographed helping militia supporters smash the bulletproof glass at the embassy reception gate.
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. Iraqi security forces simply mingled with the crowd, and some joined in. One member of the force that guards the zone’s checkpoints was photographed helping the militia supporters smash the bulletproof glass at the embassy reception gate. Many drew comparisons with the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, the prelude to decades of hostility between Iran and the United States.
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 for 444 days. “From the siege of their embassy in Tehran in 1979 to Baghdad in 2019, history repeats itself,” said Abu Alaa Al-Awalae, who heads one of the Iranian-backed militias that joined in the embassy attack.
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. Many of the demonstrators wore militia uniforms and carried flags signifying their allegiance to Kataib Hezbollah.
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. 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.” The graffiti scrawled on the embassy walls signified allegiance to Iran: the names of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the powerful Quds Force commander, Maj. Gen. 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. Sly reported from Beirut. Dan Lamothe, William Branigin, Alex Horton, Carol Morello, Philip Rucker, John Hudson and Paul Sonne in Washington contributed to this report.
U.S. Embassy officials did not respond to requests for comment, and it was not immediately clear how many U.S. diplomats or troops were trapped inside the 104-acre compound, the largest U.S. diplomatic facility in the world. Opened with much fanfare over a decade ago as a projection of American influence in Iraq, on Tuesday it seemed as much a symbol of U.S. vulnerability in a country where Washington 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.
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 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.
Sly reported from Beirut. William Branigin, Alex Horton, Carol Morello, Philip Rucker, Dan Lamothe and Paul Sonne in Washington contributed to this report.
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