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US embassy under siege by Iraqis: Protesters break front gate, storm facility in Baghdad

December 31, 2019 | | Print Article
(Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Embassy in Iraq’s capital of Baghdad sustained a terrorist attack early Tuesday morning EST as hundreds of “protesters” affiliated with a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) broke through the front gate and stormed the facility.

“Shouting ‘Down, Down U.S.A.!’ the crowd hurled water bottles and stones. They raised militia flags and taunted the embassy’s security staff, who remained behind glass windows in a gated reception area. Protesters sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows in red reading: ‘Closed in the name of the resistance,'” the Associated Press reported.

“Flames could be seen rising from inside the compound, and at least three United States troops were spotted on the roof of the embassy. It was not clear what caused a fire at the reception area, and a man on a loudspeaker urged protesters not to proceed any further: ‘The message was delivered.'”

(Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s not clear why the “protesters” chose to adopt the “resistance” language of the American left. What’s known is that the “protesters” were “supporters” (or members?) of an Iraqi Shiite militia known as Kata’ib Hezbollah. The U.S. State Department classifies Kata’ib Hezbollah as an FTO.

The following video footage reportedly depicts the moment the attack began:

The terror attack was reportedly inspired by airstrikes the Trump administration launched Sunday against Kata’ib Hezbollah facilities in Iraq and Iran in retaliation for the militia’s suspected attacks on joint U.S.-Iraq military facilities.

“In response to repeated Kata’ib Hizbollah (KH) attacks on Iraqi bases that host Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces, U.S. forces have conducted precision defensive strikes against five KH facilities in Iraq and Syria that will degrade KH’s ability to conduct future attacks against OIR coalition forces,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement Sunday.

He added that the most recent attack by the FTO included”included a 30-plus rocket attack on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk that resulted in the death of a U.S. citizen and injured four U.S. service members and two members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).”

He further noted the group has ties to Iran’s Quds Force, which was itself designated an FTO by President Donald Trump this past April.

More scenes from Tuesday’s attack may be seen below:

As of roughly 6:00 am EST, the “protesters” had “withdrew from the interior of the US Embassy in Baghdad following the arrival of Iraqi security forces,” according to Ragıp Soylu of Middle East Eye.

The Iraqi security forces were firing tear gas to disperse “protesters,” while the security guards from inside the embassy were using stun grenades on them.

There were no reported deaths as of 6:00 am, which boded well given concerns that this terror attack could wind up being as deadly as the 2012 Benghazi terror attack in Libya.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted shortly before 6:00 am that the party truly “responsible for orchestrating the” attack was Iran.

In that same vein, others began demanding the president take immediate, decisive action against the rogue state.

While others maintained that, if anything, this terror attack is further proof positive of why the president must stick to his campaign promise to leave the Middle East.

And others still aimed some of their fury at the media for insistence on labeling the terrorists “protesters.”

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Vivek Saxena
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