Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned on Friday the U.S. air strike on Baghdad airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds force, and urged restraint from all parties.

Iraq must put its put national interest first and avoid the tragedies of armed conflict that have plagued it over four decades, he said in a statement.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran has vowed “harsh retaliation” for a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s airport that killed Iran’s top general and the architect of its interventions across the Middle East, as tensions soared in the wake of the targeted killing.

The killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, marks a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Iran, which has careened from one crisis to another since President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions.

02 Jan 2019; MEMO: Anti-establishment protesters in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Tuesday denied reports that they were linked to pro-Iran protesters who besieged the US embassy building in the Iraqi capital.

“The protests in Tahrir Square and the surrounding area have nothing to do with what is happening in front of the US embassy in the Green Zone, central Baghdad,” the protesters said in a statement.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran-backed militiamen withdrew from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday after two days of clashes with American security forces, but U.S.-Iran tensions remain high and could spill over into further violence.

The withdrawal followed calls from the government and senior militia leaders. It ended a two-day crisis marked by the breach of the largest and one of the most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in the world.

01 Jan 2019; MEMO: Iran denied it was behind violent protests at the US embassy in Iraq yesterday and warned against any retaliation, after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for an attack on the mission and said it would be held responsible, reported Reuters.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Paramilitary groups who have been protesting against U.S. airstrikes in Iraq told their supporters to withdraw from the perimeter of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, although there was no immediate sign of a pullout.

The embassy’s outer perimeter was stormed on Tuesday by demonstrators angry at U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed group that killed at least 25 fighters. On Wednesday demonstrators hurled rocks at the building while security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse them.

BAGHDAD, Jan 1 (NNN-ANADOLU) — Outraged Iraqi protesters on Tuesday stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, protesting Washington’s attacks on armed battallions belong to Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi forces. 

At least 25 people were killed in weekend U.S. airstrikes on positions of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia group, in Iraq and Syria.

Hundreds of Iraqi protesters gathered early Tuesday near the embassy to show their anger at the U.S. attacks.

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Iran on Tuesday for “orchestrating” an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and said he will hold Tehran responsible.

“Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified,” Trump said in a Twitter post.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Protesters attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday and the ambassador and other staff were evacuated as anger over U.S. air strikes on Iraq erupted into violence.

In Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of orchestrating the unrest and said Tehran would be held responsible.

The protesters and militia fighters stormed and burned a security kiosk at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy but did not breach the main compound as security forces and embassy guards fired tear gas and stun grenades, Reuters witnesses said.

BAGHDAD, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. forces on Sunday attacked five locations in Iraq and Syria controlled by Iraq's paramilitary Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH), or Hezbollah Brigades, in response to recent attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, triggering strong responses from Iraq and Syria, with Iran denying any role in the recent attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq.