Outer buildings on fire near the US Embassy in the Green Zone, Baghdad, Dec 31, 2019. (via @AuroraIntel on Twitter)
Members of Iran-backed Iraqi militias and their supporters have entered the international “Green Zone” in Baghdad, Iraq in protest against US airstrikes on PMU positions in Iraq and Syria 24 hours ago. Those airstrikes targeted weapons depots used by Kataib Hezbollah to store rockets used to regularly attack joint US-Iraqi bases around the country, killing at least 25 militia members and wounding dozens more.
PMU militiamen and supporters in the Green Zone claimed to be staging a “sit-in” around the US Embassy, but instead clearly intended to storm the Embassy, setting fire to its main gate and reception area, and destroying a security checkpoint. Additional US Marines have been ordered to the embassy to provide additional protection, where troops have taken defensive positions around the compound, deploying tear gas and flash bangs to keep the mob outside the compound. Apache helicopters could be seen circling the compound and shooting flares. The US State Dept has announced that the embassy has been secured and has not been evacuated yet. US Ambassador Douglas A. Silliman is not in the compound at this time.
A diplomatic row between Washington and Baghdad has already started. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi condemned the attack on the US Embassy as illegal, but also condemned US airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah, calling them a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. The US Government in turn accused the Iraqi government of “failing to protect US interests” in Iraq.
The attack on the US Embassy by Iran-sponsored militias is especially poignant now, considering the role of the ruling ayatollahs in leading the attack on the US embassy in Tehran during the Islamic revolution 40 years ago.