US advises citizens not to travel to Iraq after recent attacks on US personnel
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Students in Baghdad on Oct 18, 2023, protesting in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – The US State Department said on Sunday that US citizens should not travel to Iraq after recent attacks on American troops and personnel in the region.
The travel advisory says: “Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraq’s limited capacity to provide support to US citizens.”
There has been a spike in attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria since the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza broke out. Last week, a US warship shot down more than a dozen drones and four cruise missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen.
The advisory followed the ordered departure of eligible family members and non-emergency US government personnel from US Embassy Baghdad and US Consulate General Erbil “due to increased security threats against US personnel and interests”, the State Department said in a statement.
Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war, which began after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, killing more than 1,400 people.
Israel has since retaliated with deadly air strikes on Gaza – a 40.2km-long strip of land that is part of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and home to 2.3 million people – which has been ruled politically since 2006 by Hamas. Israel’s air strikes have killed more than 4,700 people, Palestinian officials say.
“Because of security concerns, US government personnel in Baghdad are instructed not to use Baghdad International Airport,” the State Department said on Sunday.
The United States has sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in recent weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 marines.
The US will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system and additional Patriot air defence missile system battalions to the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Saturday. REUTERS
