US embassy attack: Protesters withdraw after standoff in Iraq

Protesters who have been demonstrating outside the US embassy in Iraq for a second day have withdrawn from the area after a tense standoff.

On Tuesday, the embassy was attacked by a crowd angered by US air strikes targeting an Iran-backed militia.

Clashes continued on Wednesday as demonstrators hurled stones while US forces fired tear gas.

The hostilities came amid escalating tension between the US and Iran – the two main Iraqi government sponsors.

Tuesday’s attack – which sparked a war of words between US President Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – had threatened to escalate, with the US defence secretary announcing the deployment of additional troops to the region.

But by Wednesday evening, the Iraqi government announced that all groups had withdrawn from the perimeter of the US embassy in Baghdad following an appeal for calm.

A small group of protesters however began to set up a camp in front of a nearby hotel.

President Trump has threatened Iran after blaming it for Tuesday’s attack, in which no US personnel were injured. Mr Trump tweeted that Iran “will pay a very big price” for any damage or loss of life. “This is not a warning, it is a threat,” he said.

But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by saying the US “can’t do a damn thing”. Anti-American sentiment was widespread in Iraq, he added.

Tehran has denied that it orchestrated the protests at the Baghdad embassy.

The embassy is one of the largest US diplomatic missions in the world and one of the most heavily guarded.

Currently, there are about 5,000 US troops in Iraq involved in anti-Islamic State operations and training missions with the Iraqi security forces.

Tuesday’s protest took place after funerals were held for militia fighters killed in US strikes.

The militia was an Iranian-backed force, the Kataib Hezbollah militia in western Iraq and eastern Syria.

At least 25 fighters died in the US bombing of their bases on Sunday, which Washington said was a retaliation for the death of an American civilian worker killed during a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base.

In response, an angry crowd breached a reception area in the US embassy compound, leading US troops to fire teargas to repel them.

About 750 US marines have been sent to the region to boost security, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper has announced. -CNN