The recent violation of Iraqi sovereignty by U.S. air strikes on Iraqi soil, in response to the killing of an American civilian contractor in Iraq, sparked fiery protests in Baghdad with thousands storming the U.S. embassy.
According to the U.S. Secretary of Defence, Mark Esper, F-15E Strike Eagles of the U.S. Air force dropped precision-guided bombs in Iraq and Syria on Saturday afternoon. Iraqi PM’s military spokesperson termed the strikes as a gross violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.
The U.S. assault — the largest focusing on an Iraqi state-authorized militia in recent years — and the calls for vengeance, indicate a further heightening of the proxy war between the U.S. and Iran unfolding in the Middle East.
Several thousand Iraqi protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, breaching its outer wall and chanting “Death to America!” in anger over weekend air strikes that killed pro-Iran fighters.
It was the first time in years protesters have been able to reach the US embassy, which is sheltered behind a series of checkpoints in the high-security Green Zone. A stream of men in military fatigues, as well as some women, marched through those checkpoints to the embassy’s walls with no apparent reaction from Iraqi security forces.
Protesters threw rocks and wrenched security cameras off the walls. US marines inside the compound fired tear gas and flash bangs to disperse the crowd, which had ignored calls over megaphones to back away from the embassy.
Protesters echoed those calls on Tuesday, carrying posters reading: “Parliament should oust US troops, or else we will
The demonstrators waved flags in support of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a mostly Shiite network of Iraqi arnmed groups that has received training and weapons from powerful neighbour Iran.
PRESSTV EXCLUSIVE:
Video shows the moment that Iraqi protesters storm U.S. embassy in #Baghdad pic.twitter.com/gLOxV3WBNK
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) December 31, 2019
On Sunday, at least 25 fighters from a hardline Hashed faction known as Kataeb Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) were killed in US airstrikes on a western base.
Read more: ‘Act of war’: Pompeo openly accuses Iran of Saudi Oil Attack
The strikes were in response to a 36-rocket attack last week that killed one US contractor working at an Iraqi base, the latest in a string of attacks on areas where American troops are deployed.
They have not been claimed but US security assessments have largely blamed them on Kataeb Hezbollah. The United States has around 5,200 troops deployed across Iraq to train security forces and prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State jihadist group.
مشاهد من أمام السفارة الأمريكية في #بغداد، بعد محاولة محتجين اقتحام مبنى السفارة#إرم_نيوز pic.twitter.com/7mWGf7Fph5
— Erem News – إرم نيوز (@EremNews) December 31, 2019
No to America
After the strikes, Kataeb Hezbollah and other pro-Iran factions in the Hashed demanded the “withdrawal of the American enemy”. Protesters echoed those calls on Tuesday, carrying posters reading: “Parliament should oust US troops, or else we will.”
Others carried banners with US President Donald Trump’s face crossed out. They scrawled “No to America!” and “Shut by order of the Resistance Brigades” on the embassy gates.
Many set up tents to begin an indefinite sit-in. Among those at the protests were Iraq’s National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayyadh — who is also the head of the Hashed — and other top Hashed officials.
On Sunday, at least 25 fighters from a hardline Hashed faction known as Kataeb Hezbollah (Hezbollah Brigades) were killed in US air strikes on a western base
Iraq had long feared being caught in the middle of escalating tensions between its two main allies the United States and Iran, after Washington pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran last year.
One down. First casualty. Reportedly hit by live ammo #Baghdad #Iraq #USEmbassy pic.twitter.com/jEb8w0Z3xP
— Logiko Iko (@IkoAfortiori) December 31, 2019
Since the weekend strikes, ties have been increasingly strained. Iraq’s government, acting in a caretaker capacity after prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi resigned in the face of street protests, threatened to summon the American ambassador.
“American forces acted on their political priorities, not those of Iraqis,” it said. Dozens of lawmakers called on the government to review an agreement allowing the deployment of US soldiers in the country, saying the strikes amount to a violation of sovereignty that renders the pact obsolete.
Read more: The End of US Influence in Iraq
The United States, meanwhile, accused Iraq of failing to “protect” US interests in the country. US defence officials have told AFP that pro-Iran factions now pose a greater threat than IS because of the repeated rocket attacks.
Protestors are currently breaking into the #US Embassy in #Baghdad, #Iraq. Kata’ib #Hezbollah supporters have managed to break through the first security gate (photo via @thestevennabil) flags can be seen. pic.twitter.com/mIpTn70wF9
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) December 31, 2019
Abdel Mahdi said he had been forewarned by US Defense Secretary Mark Esper that the US would carry out the air strikes. “He told me the United States would strike the Hezbollah Brigades and I told him it would be a very dangerous act that could lead to an escalation,” Abdel Mahdi said.
The premier tendered his resignation in November after two months of anti-government rallies.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk.