US orders nonemergency personnel to leave embassy in Iraq due to increased ‘threats’

The State Department on Sunday announced it ordered any eligible family members and nonemergency government personnel on Friday to leave the United States Embassy in Iraq, citing a recent increase in “threats.”

“Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraq’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens,” the advisory said, which orders such personnel to leave the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the U.S. consulate in Erbil “due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests.”

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(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Given the unstable circumstances in the area, the travel advisory to Iraq was set at Level 4, or “do not travel,” according to the State Department’s Sunday statement.

The orders come as U.S. forces were under attack during a number of instances last week amid heightened tensions in the region, including two attacks in Iraq, one of which caused minor injuries to U.S. personnel, defense officials said.

On Oct. 18, the U.S. military thwarted a drone attack against its forces in Iraq, two U.S. officials told Reuters at the time, detailing that two drones were “intercepted” just “before they could attack.” The origin of the attack was not detailed.

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“We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting, but they were launched heading north along the Red Sea potentially towards targets in Israel,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Oct. 19.

The recent activity raised a threat of new hostility against U.S. personnel across the region as outrage grows in Arab states over Israel’s campaign of airstrikes and plans for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas forces that resulted in more than 1,300 Israeli deaths earlier this month.