President Donald Trump blamed the attack against the embassy on Iran and said the country would be held ‘fully responsible.’
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday to protest American airstrikes on an Iran-backed militia in Iraq.
President Donald Trump in a tweet Tuesday blamed Iran for the protests and said the strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria over the weekend were in response to the killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack by an Iranian-backed militia against a base housing U.S. troops.
“Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many,” Trump tweeted “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!”
Demonstrators scaled the walls and dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the embassy compound, smashing a door and setting fire to a reception area, the Associated Press reported. Security at the facility fired tear gas while protesters broke windows and threw rocks.
The embassy has been evacuated, along with the U.S. ambassador, due to security concerns. Security personnel remained at the scene. No casualties were reported, but the beach was one of the worst attacks on the embassy.
The violence comes after the U.S. carried out five airstrikes on facilities controlled by Kataib Hezbollah, a paramilitary group supported by Iran. At least 25 people were killed and 51 others were wounded.
U.S. officials said the airstrikes were “defensive action[s] designed to protect American forces and American citizens in Iraq, but it is also aimed at deterring Iran.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi said in a statement that the attacks “were condemned by the government at the highest levels.”