US Embassy & Protesters Attacked by Iranian Militias in Iraq // FAI ONLINE

Iraqis take to the streets in larger numbers after Shi’a cleric Muqdata al-Sadr withdrew his support for them on Friday.

Three mortars struck the US Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone last night. At least one round struck a dining hall building in the early evening, causing a fire and setting off air raid sirens. Washington confirmed that there were no deaths in the incident, although there were eyewitness reports of medivac flights from the compound, and the Iraqi government reported at least one injured person of unknown nationality. Attacks on the compound usually occur much later at night at do not impact the embassy itself, indicating that the incident was intended to cause American casualties.

Iranian-sponsored militia Kataib Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the embassy attack in an online video, declaring that their revenge is “ongoing”, and advising the US military to “prepare coffins” in reference to a US airstrike killed Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani three weeks ago. There are no indications of an imminent retaliatory strike by the US for the embassy strike at this time.

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As Kataib Hezbollah was firing on the US Embassy in Baghdad, other Iranian-lined militias were attacking street protesters elsewhere in Iraq. Unarmed demonstrators were fired upon in Baghdad and Karbala, killing at least 2 people. In Nasiriyah, unnamed militiamen surrounded a street camp in Habobi Square as protesters slept in their tents. The assailants opened fire with automatic weapons before setting the tent camp on fire, causing panic and dozens of casualties. At least 12 protesters have been killed by Iranian-linked militiamen this weekend alone. Demonstrators reacted to the attack on the street camp this morning by showing in even larger numbers in Habobi Square and burning the headquarters of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, showing that they will not be silenced by their government or Iran.

The protest movement has been marching against Iranian influence in Iraqi politics for almost four months. The crackdown against them by Iranian proxies has intensified in the last two days after popular Iraqi Shi’a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr swung his support from the protest movement to the Iraqi government and Iran on Friday. Al-Sadr had initially hoped to co-opt the protest movement into a revolt against US presence in Iraq, but did not succeed, and instead has negotiated with his Iranian patrons for the sake of political expediency. His withdrawal from the movement caused a surge in protest attendance over the weekend, as tens of thousands of Iraqis turned out

Violence and chaos continues to escalate in Iraq, creating human suffering and need. FAI has been ministering in Iraqi Kurdistan for 4 years and is prepared to expand our operations into Iraq proper. We ask for our global partners to join us in prayer for access to Iraq during this critical time, and for the resources to meet the most dire needs of its citizens.

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UPDATE: This article was updated at 18:30 Jerusalem time on 27 January to correct a previous report that the US embassy had been attacked with Katyusha rockets, and to include developments in protester reaction the following day.