US sending more troops to Baghdad embassy

WASHINGTON — The US will send more troops to protect the embassy compound penetrated by Shiite militiamen and their supporters in Baghdad on Tuesday and does not plan an evacuation, the Pentagon and State Department say.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the US has taken actions to “ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats” and to “ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy.”

The extra force will consist of a small additional detachment of Marine security guards, two defense officials in Washington say. They would be from the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, which is trained specifically to provide security at US diplomatic missions.

“US personnel are secure,” adds an official from the State Department. “There are no plans to evacuate Embassy Baghdad.”

Dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the US Embassy compound, smashing a main door, setting fire to a reception area and drawing tear gas fired by embassy guards. The mob was angered over US airstrikes that targeting the Iran-backed militia on Sunday, a retaliation for rocket attacks by the militia that killed a US contractor last week.

— AP