ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday issued an urgent travel advisory for Iraq, instructing all American citizens to leave the country immediately, citing “indiscriminate” attacks by Iran-aligned “terrorist militias” against citizens and targets across Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. The advisory came hours after its building in the Iraqi capital was reportedly hit in a missile attack.
In a statement on X, the embassy said that “Iran-aligned terrorist militias have encouraged and carried out indiscriminate attacks on U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States across Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR),” urging that “U.S. citizens should leave Iraq now.”
The embassy further noted the repeated attacks by Iran-backed armed groups against the International Zone - commonly known as the Green Zone, which houses government institutions, diplomatic missions, and United Nations offices - as well as areas around Erbil International Airport and the consulate building in the Kurdish capital.
“Do not attempt to come to the embassy in Baghdad or the consulate general in Erbil due to the ongoing risk of missiles, drones, and rockets in Iraqi airspace,” the American diplomatic mission firmly instructed.
The warning came hours after the US embassy building in Baghdad came under “a missile attack,” Reuters reported, citing “Iraqi security sources,” who said “the attack caused smoke to rise from the embassy building,” without providing details on the extent of the damage.
Iraqi social media users circulated video footage depicting a fire that reportedly blazed through defense systems atop the embassy building in Baghdad.
Footage shows smoke rising in Baghdad, reportedly from the US Embassy compound. A security source told AFP the attack was carried out by a drone. pic.twitter.com/XzpdAW2J12