Hundreds of Iraqi protesters have broken down the gate of the US embassy in Baghdad as they attempt to storm the compound.
(Crowds have been gathering outside the building for hours overcontroversial American airstrikesthat killed fighters of an Iran-backed militia.
Gunfire has been heard at the scene and there are reports of tear gas, and an Associated Press journalist has reported seeing flames rising from inside and at least three US soldiers on the roof of the main building.
Reuters reports that US embassy staff and the US ambassador are not in the building, citing Iraqi officials.
They are understood to have been evacuated before the gate – used by vehicles as well as guards – was broken down, with protesters having pelted the entrance with stones as they chanted: “No, no America! No, no Trump!”
Iraqi special forces have been deployed in a bid to prevent them entering the embassy and a man on a loudspeaker has urged the crowd to desist, saying: “The message was delivered.”
Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, and many other senior militia leaders are among the protesters who have gathered over the past few days.
Kataib Hezbollah flags have also been hung on the fence surrounding the building in a show of support.
The Kataib Hezbollah is the militia that was targeted by the deadly US strikes in the west of Iraq on Sunday, which caused at least (deaths and injured another) people.
The large protests began after Iraq condemned Washington for the strikes, which left American forces on alert for possible reprisal attacks.
Sky News’ foreign affairs editor Deborah Haynes said of the strikes: ” It’s revived the absolute hatred many Iraqis feel about having US forces on their soil at all.
“That’s in the wake of the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, they remember all to well those days.
“US forces were actually welcomed back in (************************************************************************, by the government, to help in the fight against Islamic State (IS) and during that time they worked on the same side as these paramilitary groups, many backed by Iran , because they had a shared enemy in IS. “
The bombardment also prompted the Iraqi national security council to say it would reconsider working with the US-led coalition against Islamic Stat e.
US, British and other foreign troops are only able to operate in Iraq with the permission of the government, and any review of the relationship could lead to permission being withdrawn.
Iran accused Washington of “an act of terrorism” over the attacks, even as US officials warned they were ready to launch more offensive action to defend American personnel and interests if required.
Concerns are growing that Iraq will become a new battleground for Tehran and Washington to wage a proxy war
In a statement from his office, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mehdi described the American attack on the Iraqi armed forces as an “unacceptable vicious assault that will have dangerous consequences.”
But US officials said any violation of sovereignty had been carried out by the Iranian-backed militia when it allegedly targeted a base in the northern city of Kirkuk in a rocket attack that left a US contractor dead.
US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker said the strikes, carried out by F – planes, were a message to Iran after months of “restraint”.
They hit three targets in Iraq and two in Syria.
US troops and Iranian-backed militias have largely avoided direct confrontation in Iraq over the past five years as they both fought a common enemy in Islamic State.
But a growing, global standoff between Washington and Tehran over Iranian nuclear ambitions could see a flare up in hostilities on the ground in Iraq where both countries have a lot of interests, personnel and influence.
More than 5, 01 US military personnel are based in Iraq as well as some (British forces.
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