Baghdad/Washington - The United States will immediately deploy
750 soldiers to Iraq, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, after a crowd of
protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad.
The move is the latest in an escalation that began after the US
launched strikes over the weekend on an Iranian-backed militia in
Iraq and Syria.
"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," US Defense
Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement.
Esper added that additional troops are prepared to deploy in the
coming days.
Thousands of supporters of the militia converged on Baghdad's heavily
fortified Green Zone on Tuesday, home to government offices and
foreign embassies, to denounce the US strikes.
Witnesses told dpa that protesters crossed the outside wall of the US
embassy compound and attempted to climb a second wall but were unable
to penetrate further or reach the main buildings.
Demonstrators chanting "Death to America" later set fire to one of
the gates in the US compound, witnesses said, despite appeals from
Iraq's premier Adel Abdel-Mahdi for them to leave.
President Donald Trump vowed that Iran would be held responsible for
lives lost and damage incurred from the incident.
"They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a warning, it is a
threat. Happy New Year!" Trump said on Twitter.
Later, reporters outside his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida asked the
US president: "Do you foresee going to war with Iran?"
"I don't think that would be a good idea for Iran, it wouldn't last
very long," Trump asserted, adding: "Do I want to? No."
"I want to have peace, I like peace, and iran should want peace more
than anybody so I don't see that happening," Trump said.
While Trump is holding Iran responsible for the incident at the
US mission in Baghdad, Tehran blasted Washington's "irrational
response" to the protests, and denied any involvement.
Washington should accept the fact that it is seen by the Iraqis as an
"occupying power" in a sovereign state, and that is why there are
protests against the US, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas
Mousavi said, according to the Iranian news agency Mehr.
The US strikes over the weekend in Iraq and Syria targeted the Kataib
Hezbollah militia group, which was blamed for an attack earlier this
week that killed a US citizen.
Hashd Saabi - whose supporters attacked the US embassy on Tuesday -
is an umbrella group which includes Kataib Hezbollah.
For its part, the Hashd Shaabi militia said that 75 protesters were
wounded after the guards at the embassy fired tear gas and bullets,
without specifying what kind of ammunition was used.
The group said airstrikes left 25 militiamen dead and 50 others
wounded.
The United States already sent additional forces, including attack
helicopters to protect the large embassy complex, which has not been
evacuated.
Trump spoke with Abdel-Mahdi by phone and "emphasized the need to
protect United States personnel and facilities in Iraq," the White
House said in a statement.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper called on the government of Iraq to
"fulfil its international responsibilities" to protect US citizens in
the country.