Militia group orders pullout after breach that has badly damaged US-Iraq relations

Julian Borger in Washington and agencies in Baghdad
Wed 1 Jan 2020

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pro-Iranian militiamen and supporters outside the US embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday. Photograph: Khalid Mohammed/AP

Iranian-backed militants have withdrawn from the US embassy in Baghdad following an order from their militia organisation, ending a day-long siege that badly damaged US-Iraqi relations and demonstrated the strength of Iranian influence in the Iraqi capital.

The US defence secretary, Mark Esper, announced that 750 airborne troops would be deployed to the region immediately, with more to follow in the next few days.

“This deployment is an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against US personnel and facilities, such as we witnessed in Baghdad today,” Esper said in a written statement. “The United States will protect our people and interests anywhere they are found around the world.”
The troops being deployed are drawn from a rapid reaction unit in the army’s 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Esper was vague on where they would be going, but a US official familiar with the decision said their initial destination was Kuwait.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella group for disparate Shia militias operating in Iraq, issued a statement on Wednesday calling for the withdrawal of the several hundred militiamen and supporters who had mobbed the embassy on Tuesday. Many of them camped around the heavily fortified building overnight.

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