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Baghdad: Iran-backed Kataib Hizballah militia besieges US embassy, Trump says Iran “orchestrating” attack

Dec 31, 2019 9:00 am By Robert Spencer

The Islamic Republic of Iran has actively courted war with the U.S. for a long time, as is shown in The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Iran. The mullahs may be hoping to provoke that war now in order to distract their people from their own miserable condition and relieve the pressure that they’re under domestically.

“US Embassy compound in Baghdad under siege as crowds protesting airstrikes break through gate,” by Greg Norman and Edmund DeMarche, Fox News, December 31, 2019:

Crowds of angry Iraqis protesting America’s recent airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia have laid siege to the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad Tuesday, chanting “Down, Down USA!” and storming through a main gate, prompting troops to fire back tear gas in response.

At least six U.S. soldiers were seen standing on the roof of the main building pointing their firearms at the demonstrators Tuesday afternoon as the chaotic scene is still unfolding in the Iraqi capital, where the sounds of gunfire could be heard.

Two Iraqi foreign ministry officials initially told Reuters the U.S. ambassador and staff were evacuated, but U.S. officials pushed back, telling Fox News that the embassy has not been evacuated. Further, an official said Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller was not evacuated but has been out of the country on a previously planned vacation.

“Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible,” President Trump tweeted. “In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!”

Dozens of protesters, many of whom are reported to be wearing militia uniforms, are said to have come within 200 meters of the main building after busting through an entrance used by cars.

The embassy attack, one of the worst in recent memory, followed deadly U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed group, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. military said the airstrikes were in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it had blamed on the militia.

Supporters of the militia held funerals Tuesday for the fighters killed, before setting their sights on the embassy.

The mob shouted “Down, Down USA!” as the crowd first tried to push inside the embassy grounds, hurling water and stones over its walls, the Associated Press reports. They raised yellow militia flags and taunted the embassy’s security staff who remained behind the glass windows in the gates’ reception area and also sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows. The graffiti, in red in support of the Kataeb Hezbollah, read: “Closed in the name of the resistance.”

Following the breach of the gate, an Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound. Smoke from tear gas that was fired rose in the area, and at least three of the protesters appeared to have difficulties breathing. A man on a loudspeaker also was heard urging the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”…

“US Baghdad embassy attacked by protesters angry at air strikes,” BBC, December 31, 2019:

Protesters angered by recent deadly US air strikes targeting an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia have attacked the US embassy compound in Baghdad.

US troops fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that breached the outer wall of the compound, which is in the capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

A guard post on the street nearby was also set alight.

US President Donald Trump accused Iran of “orchestrating” the attack and said it would be “held fully responsible”.

At least 25 fighters died when the US bombed bases associated with the Kataib Hezbollah militia in western Iraq and eastern Syria on Sunday.

The US said it was retaliating for a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk on Friday that killed an American civilian contractor.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Monday that the strikes had violated his country’s sovereignty and would force it to review its relations with the US.

Kataib Hezbollah’s commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, warned that the militia’s response “would be very tough on the American forces in Iraq”.

Iran described the attacks as a “clear example of terrorism”….

Waving Kataib Hezbollah and other militia flags, and chanting anti-American slogans, the protesters threw stones at the compound’s main gate, pulled down security cameras, attacked empty guard posts, and started several fires.

The situation later escalated when the compound’s wall was breached….

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Filed Under: Featured, Iran, Iraq, United States Tagged With: Baghdad


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Comments

  1. Philis O'Shaughnessy says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 9:10 am

    Stupid jihadi’s telling the ignorant, “islam is peaceful”, islam loves Jesus better than the christians.” Muhammadens can’t reason, fail logic, fail self reflection, hate everyone and everything is haram=bad.

  2. Infidel says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 9:24 am

    How is Kataeb Hizbullah different from the original, real Hizbullah? And if they have Iran’s support, wouldn’t they supplant Hizbullah as the real thing?

    On the attacks yesterday, is it well known how related those attacks were to the killing of a US contractor? Last night, Doug McGregor pointed out to Mark Steyn that they were totally unrelated and had caused the entire Iraqi parliament to demand an immediate and complete US withdrawal from Iraq

    • Sharon ODONNELL says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 10:59 am

      Drop Israeli skunk spray .it cause vomiting shitting blindness for 3 days
      .they stink like sulfur and poop.x3 days after ….

    • Classy Infidel says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 4:25 pm

      Iran-backed fighting assets. That same Iran that wants full control of the region. Do nothing and Iran will be emboldened and more attacks on USA assets will occur.
      Remember BENGHAZI?
      Meanwhile, USA troops arriving in Baghdad from Kuwait:
      https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1212095279966695432

      • Infidel says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 8:13 pm

        Except that Iran is greatly outnumbered in the region. For starters, they’re the only Shi’ite country in the region (Azerbaijan is allied to Turkey, Bahrein to Saudi Arabia and Iraq is split). And over the last few months, Turkey has asserted its claims to leadership of the ummah, and has cannibalized all of Iran’s Sunni support, like Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood and so on. Not just that, even the Shia Arabs in Lebanon and Iraq have started resenting Iran and its stooges like Hizbullah.

        All of this internecine fighting among Muslims can be facilitated if we withdraw completely from the region. Obviously, we don’t want any American blood shed, so the way to do it is completely evacuate the Baghdad embassy, as opposed to defending it w/ marines. And if it gets occupied and the Iraqi security don’t secure it, expel Iraq’s diplomatic staff in DC and sever relations. That would also leave us free to recognize an independent Kurdistan in Iraq and Syria, and put both Iran and Turkey on notice.

    • gravenimage says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 10:06 pm

      “Kataeb Hizbullah” means “Brigades of the Party of God”. Their logo is almost identical to that of Hizbullah.

      • Infidel says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 10:17 pm

        I thought Hizbullah meant Army of God, not Party of God. Hizb meaning Army. Like there was Gulbadin Heqmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami, which was a Jihadist militia fighting the Soviets in the 80s.

        So that would mean ‘Brigades of the Army of God’? More importantly, this organization too reports to Hassan Nasrallah?

        • gravenimage says

          Dec 31, 2019 at 10:23 pm

          Infidel:

          Hezbollah (Arabic: ‮حزب الله‬‎‎, meaning Party of God)

          https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah

          But of course in Islam this is a distinction without a difference.

  3. mortimer says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 9:25 am

    Apparently, Iran is indeed orchestrating Shi’ites in Iraq to threaten the US embassy with the sort of take-over that occurred in Iran many years ago during the Carter presidency. Iran commissioned an armed take-over of the US embassy done by supposed ‘students’. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, a day before Ronald Reagan took over the government. A naive, Pollyanna president like Carter or Obama will embolden evildoers and that is why Americans should never elect one. Let us not forget.

    • James Lincoln says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 4:19 pm

      So true, mortimer.

      Let us NEVER forget…

  4. elee says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 9:42 am

    How many free world men and women died to buy these ingrate bastards some semblance of freedom?

    • Frank Anderson says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 10:38 am

      Elee, please don’t insult me and other people here who had the fortune of being born out of wedlock by comparing us to these monsters. With all the polygamy and sex slavery taught and practiced in islam, the whole idea of bastardy has no meaning whatever to a muslim.

      I think a little reading about islam and its teachings would show in the first place islam means submission or slavery. They do not want what Jews teach as a core principle and Christians teach to a less emphasized value of freedom and liberty. The whole idea of such freedom and individual responsibility and worth is absent in muslim teaching. I do not remember in all of my reading and conversation a single example of a muslim calling on his god as Father.

      I remember an episode of Twilight Zone where a man and his dog wandered along a road after they died. One place invited him but refused to admit his dog. The other welcomed both. My Bassett Hound died more than 4 years ago and I still grieve. I help my “most important other” take care of her ancient Chow, because she loves her dog and I love her.

      If these evil ingrates pretending to be civilized “friends” treat talented and uniquely valuable friends this way, they show their true colors and should be recognized as the liars they are.

      • elee says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 11:02 am

        My apologies, I had no intent to hurt any decent human being, which you clearly are. Evil ingrates they surely are. I guess we already knew that. Their perfidy is so well known…..as is the legendary loyalty of dogs. Well what can you call a Muslim that doesnt defame some innocent creature?

        • Frank Anderson says

          Dec 31, 2019 at 11:12 am

          Elee I accept and appreciate your apology. My official adopted mother and family kept my adoption amazingly secret until I was 38. She died when I was 39, at which time I wrote and conducted her funeral. When I went back to Iowa at age 39 to see what I could learn, about a quarter of the births in my year were sealed indicating adoption. NONE of us have any choice in how we get here. The choice is what we do. I have done some really good things that I could not have done if I were not here. I have also failed in others. But having tried being dead on an operating table, life is better, given the choice. To a muslim, where life is for misery and slavery, death is a release to paradise. We can make this life very close to paradise by our faith and work..

        • Frank Anderson says

          Dec 31, 2019 at 11:14 am

          Consider calling him a dog! WAIT, that is an insult to the dog. Try kafir, apostate, reformer. . .

      • TimC says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 1:17 pm

        Good god, triggered much? Try to a) get the actual point and b) stick to it instead of c) taking the word “bastard” literally and d) being this rectally sensitized over it.

        For ffs.

      • James Lincoln says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 4:25 pm

        Frank Anderson,

        The Twilight Zone episode is from the original series and is called “The Hunt.” It’s available on Netflix streaming.

        Wishing you and yours the very best in 2020!

      • gravenimage says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 10:09 pm

        Frank, I am also a “bastard” in the literal sense of being born out of wedlock. But I know that elee was not using the term in this sense at all. I’m not saying that you should not be offended, but I was not.

        Happy New Year to you both!

        • Frank Anderson says

          Jan 1, 2020 at 1:54 am

          GI, I will soon be 70 years old. It is certain, even with the rise of birth control and abortions, that more people are born out of wedlock than back then. The word bastard has no meaning to a muslim. It has meaning only to non-muslims. The word reflects a disrespect to more than a quarter of the people reading here without ANY impact on the “intended target”. Every person reading here either is a bastard or has one somewhere in his family. It is intended to offend, but does not offend the supposed vile excuses of life who live to kill and die. For total lack of vocabulary and imagination a general insensitive insult makes this site less worthy of reading and contribution.

          Considering the muslim self-image of supremacy over worthless non-believers (Kafirs) like us, I do not think we are capable to insulting a muslim. Whether you have a thick skin or not I and other bastards in and out of my family object. WHY is the false accusation of bastardy STILL slander per se giving rise not only to actual damages but also punitive damages and attorney fees in many states? It would be ironic if a person accused of bastardy here sued everyone in sight for defamation. Pseudonyms (screen names) give no protection to the true names being discovered and added in litigation. SPLC lost a case no more complicated for $3 million because it made a false accusation. Imagine SPLC finding a person falsely accused of bastardy and bringing suit in Alabama, its home state, using Alabama’s Long Arm Statute, defamation law, and Fictitious Party pleading, I can think of few better and simpler ways to silence Jihad Watch at a time when it is needed for better purposes..

          Please consult a currently licensed attorney practicing in your jurisdiction for any legal advice.

    • Infidel says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 7:57 pm

      How many free world men and women died to buy these ingrate bastards some semblance of freedom?

      Precisely! Which is why we should cut our losses and treat the current Iraqi government as a hostile one. First of all, close the embassy and pull out all troops, as well as put Iraq back into the list of travel ban countries. Then, consider recognizing an independent Kurdistan if they secure Christians and Yazidis. But aside from that, withdraw completely – maybe to Israel. Then let there be a triangular contest – Iran vs Turkey vs Arabs, and let them duke it out

    • Carol the 1st says

      Jan 7, 2020 at 12:26 am

      elee…maybe “bastardizers” would be PC nowadays?

  5. Mitch Kumstein says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 10:58 am

    The worst thing done was to remove Saddam Hussein, the Sira and Hadith says it all..no wonder the Chinamen are doing the Uigars…the totalitarian Communists versus the totalitarian Muslims…this is gonna be better than WWE Saturday night…???

    • elee says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 11:06 am

      I wouldnt shed any tears over Saddam. His henchmen have apparentty joined ISIS in droves, thereby pretty much declaring their true character.

      • gravenimage says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 10:10 pm

        Agreed, elee.

  6. roberta says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 11:14 am

    And they chanted ”death to America” right? How original, wow wee that’s a new chant. Havnt heard that one daily for the last 35 years. Maybe a ”hey hey ho ho the USA has got to go” will come next. That will get me shaking in my boots.
    Drop bombs on them until they can come up with some new hate chants.
    No, better yet, get the Jooz to control the weather and stop the rain.

  7. underbed cat says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Ah wait a minute, didn’t the U.S. help write a sharia based constitution in Iraq in last administration? If so then in Iraq they are following sharia law a legal brutal system considered their constitution. which does not allow any other authority to be in the country, such as an embassy. cannot be there, or they will not be under any other foot or power than sharia. We could be putting the protesters against sharia law in life threatening conditions if we encourage them to protest and raise the heat. This embassy attack is being done by Islamic followers those who beleive in sharia law as you can see by the male mullahs or imans….head wear. Yes there are people who do not want this but we should evacuate the embassy let things settle down so a massacre does not happen to Americans or Iraqi people who spoke up. We keep seeing secular type governance in countries that suffer sharia, it will be the endless wars if we do not understand Islam and try a different method for change. In my opinion hope we get the soldiers and embassy personal out safely. Robert do you know if it is correct that we aided the sharia government to be installed.????? They will certainly use this to start war, they want infidels gone according to what I have read in the doctrine they follow. Should protesters lay low for now to save their lives?

  8. underbed cat says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 11:41 am

    America has a problem within it’s own borders we just don’t know it yet, it is clever and they lay low until they think they can pull off an Islamic revolution and try to remove our Constitution after they hide their goals and convince the public they are not the genisis of terror, until they use it. Noticing the left and the support they get…this is dangerous to not be aware of and know the enemy or the doctrine they or some follow, this uprise in Iraq is business as usual. They are offended just by our existance it appears.

  9. Wellington says

    Dec 31, 2019 at 12:56 pm

    One of my take-aways from this is that this demonstrates yet again that engaging in nation building with an Islamic country is a monumental error. I understand we have to have diplomatic personnel in many Islamic states, just as we had diplomatic personnel in many Communist states during the Cold War, but the optimal way to handle the Islamic portion of the world is to implement as far and effectively as possible a similar containment doctrine as we did with the Communist world for the brief time that it existed. This would include disallowing any Muslim immigration to the West just as the West did not permit Communist immigration to Western nations while the Cold War went on.

    And respecting the “brevity factor” here, It is my conviction that secular totalitarian ideologies like Communism (Marxism) and Nazism have brief life spans (thank God) because they are so transparently evil and foolish but that Islam is uniquely positioned to last a very long time, as it already has of course, precisely because it is a religious totalitarian ideology rather than a secular one—hiding behind a religious veil and all that. Thus, it remains the longest-lived and best disguised malevolent ideology of all time and the West should realize this and adjust to this reality accordingly. Sure hasn’t so far.

    • James Lincoln says

      Dec 31, 2019 at 4:28 pm

      Wellington,

      Excellent – and spot on analysis. My compliments.!

      Hope you enjoy your New Year’s Eve celebration – wishing you and yours a wonderful 2020!

      • Wellington says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 5:51 pm

        Thank you, James. And the same good wishes to you and yours in 2020.

        Happy New Year—may it be a productive year for both truth and freedom, each of which is under attack by many enemies of both. And I raise a beer to you tonight in honor of your service to our nation.

      • gravenimage says

        Dec 31, 2019 at 10:14 pm

        Good exchange, Wellington and James–and a Happy New Year to you both!

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