State media reported that rioters, Shiite militants, evacuated US embassy compound after Americans opened fire on demonstrations
US Marines on the roof of the embassy in Baghdad // Photo: Reuters
US Marines stationed at the US Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday confronted pro-Iranian militias in the Iraqi capital and fired weapons at them for demonstrations such as tear gas and rubber bullets.
State media reported that as a result of the clashes, the rioters began to withdraw from the embassy complex and that their place was gradually being taken up by Iraqi federal police.
Reportedly, the pro-Iranian militia's roof organization in Syria, Khashid a-Sha'abi, called on his men to withdraw from the compound after saying that "the message we asked to convey reached its destination."
Photos posted on social networks showed young people using date palms to sweep the street while others dismantled the barricades and signs posted by militias.
"You have nothing to do"
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei was quoted on Wednesday by government media as strongly condemning the US attack against the Hezbollah base in Iraq. He said Washington is avenging pro-Iranian militias because of their key role in protecting ISIS.
"I myself, the Iranian government and the nation, are condemning the United States most harshly," Khamenei was quoted as saying. A Twitter account linked to him reads: "This man (Trump) advocates that they see Iran as responsible for events in Baghdad and that they respond to Iran. 1. You can't do anything. you".
According to the AFP, the leadership of the pro-Iranian militias today called on protesters to withdraw from order violations in the US embassy. However, some order violators continued in the riots.
Proponents of militias near US embassy // Photo: AP
Earlier, pro-Iranian protesters set fire to exterior walls of the US Embassy in Baghdad, the Al Jazeera network reported. According to a Sky News report in Arabic, Iraqi security forces fired tear gas bombs at protesters. Al-Arab al-Jadeed reported that new protest tents were set up in the embassy area. And, according to an Iraqi news agency, in the clashes that have resumed, there are already several injured among order violators.
After pro-Iranian protesters attacked the United States Embassy in Baghdad yesterday, Washington updated its reinforcements in the Middle East tonight. Pangton announced that in addition to the Marines' troops sent to protect the embassy, some 750 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division were dispatched to the area, and that further reinforcements are in the coming days.
Last night, US President Donald Trump tweeted: "The United States Embassy in Iraq remained safe for hours. Many of our fighters immediately arrived in the region. I thank the President and the Prime Minister of Iraq for their swift response. "They will pay a very large price. That's not a warning." U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Asper said he approved the reinforcement delivery as an immediate response.