US rushes 750 troops to Middle East after protesters attack Embassy in Iraq

Washington, January 1: United States is sending around 750 more troops to the Middle East immediately, with hundreds of troops deployed to Kuwait, following an attack by pro-Iranian demonstrators on the US Embassy in Baghdad, said the Pentagon on Tuesday.

 

Earlier, Defence Secretary Mark Esper said, in a statement that more troops from a rapid response unit of the 82nd Airborne Division were prepared to be deployed over the next few days.

At least 500 members of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division have left Fort Bragg in the US and up to 4,000 may ultimately be deployed.

They would likely be sent to neighboring Iraq.

Esper said this deployment is an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against US personnel and facilities.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the attack on the US Embassy in Iraq was organized by terrorists Abu Mahdi al Muhandis and Qays al-Khazali - and abetted by Iranian proxies - Hadi al-Amari and Faleh al-Fayyad. He tweeted photos of all four men outside the embassy, which was stormed yesterday by pro-Iranian protesters enraged by US airstrikes against an Iranian backed militant group on Sunday.