ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US State Department on Friday said it had not announced any changes to its staffing or security posture in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. This comes amid an escalation between Washington and pro-Iran militia groups in the country.
“On October 20, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and eligible family members from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and Consulate General Erbil due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests,” a State Department spokesperson told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda in an email.
“We have not subsequently announced any adjustments to our staffing or security posture,” they added.
After a drone strike in late January killed three US troops in Jordan, Washington retaliated on February 2 by hitting more than 85 targets against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Iran-aligned groups in Iraq and Syria, killing at least 16 Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters and injuring another 36 in Iraq’s western Anbar province, near the Syrian border.
A US drone strike in eastern Baghdad’s Mashtal neighborhood in the late hours of Wednesday killed another three people, including Abu Baqer al-Saadi, a leading commander of the Kataib Hezbollah armed group.
Since mid-October, American troops have come under more than 165 rocket and drone attacks in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan by Iran-aligned armed groups condemning Washington’s support for Israel in its war in the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with the IRGC, has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS, which once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria but was declared territorially defeated in 2019.
“On October 20, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel and eligible family members from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and Consulate General Erbil due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests,” a State Department spokesperson told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda in an email.
“We have not subsequently announced any adjustments to our staffing or security posture,” they added.
After a drone strike in late January killed three US troops in Jordan, Washington retaliated on February 2 by hitting more than 85 targets against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Iran-aligned groups in Iraq and Syria, killing at least 16 Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighters and injuring another 36 in Iraq’s western Anbar province, near the Syrian border.
A US drone strike in eastern Baghdad’s Mashtal neighborhood in the late hours of Wednesday killed another three people, including Abu Baqer al-Saadi, a leading commander of the Kataib Hezbollah armed group.
Since mid-October, American troops have come under more than 165 rocket and drone attacks in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan by Iran-aligned armed groups condemning Washington’s support for Israel in its war in the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with the IRGC, has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
Around 2,500 American troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS, which once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria but was declared territorially defeated in 2019.
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