Supporters of the Kataib Hezbollah militia who spent the night outside the besieged U.S. Embassy in Baghdad have begun leaving the area, likely marking the end of the siege.
The Iran-backed protesters claimed victory on Wednesday and said they would now demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq through the nation’s parliament, according to the Washington Post. Within hours, Iraqi security forces regained control of the area around the embassy.
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Hundreds of the militia’s supporters attacked the U.S. Embassy compound on Tuesday in response to American airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah. The United States sent 100 Marines and two Apache helicopters to help reinforce the embassy and plans to deploy 750 soldiers to the region “immediately.”
A State Department representative said Tuesday that U.S. personnel “are secure and there has been no breach.” There were no plans to evacuate the embassy, and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller was returning to the location after being out of the country on a previously scheduled vacation, the representative added.
President Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the attack and said the country would be held “fully responsible.”
“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!” he tweeted Tuesday afternoon, later adding that Iran will “pay a very BIG PRICE.”
