Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the United States would be sending “additional forces” to support personnel at the American embassy in Baghdad after pro-Iranian forces attacked the compound Tuesday.
“We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in country, and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy,” Esper said in a statement.
“As in all countries, we rely on host nation forces to assist in the protection of our personnel in country, and we call on the Government of Iraq to fulfill its international responsibilities to do so,” Esper said. “The U.S. continues to support the Iraqi people and a free, sovereign and prosperous Iraq.”
One hundred Marines were requested by the State Department to help reinforce the embassy, Central Command spokesman Mike Lawhorn told the Military Times. Two Apache helicopters dispatched from Taji, Iraq, were also providing watch, he said. It’s unclear where the Marines came from.
A State Department spokesperson said U.S. personnel “are secure and there has been no breach.” There are no plans to evacuate the embassy, and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller is returning to the embassy after being out of the country on a previously scheduled vacation, the spokesperson added.
U.S. diplomats and embassy staffers took shelter in a fortified safe room inside the embassy, according to the Washington Post. They declined to give details about their situation except for saying they felt secure.
Hundreds of protesters chanting, “Death to America,” attacked the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad in response to American airstrikes on an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq.
President Trump has accused Iran of orchestrating the attack on the embassy 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!” Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
UPDATE: Esper authorized the deployment of 750 more soldiers to the region, he announced in a statement Tuesday night. The troops were set to deploy “immediately,” and “additional forces from the IRF are prepared to deploy over the next several days.”
