On 27 December 2019 a number of rockets fell on the joint US-Iraqi military compound at K1 Airbase just outside Kirkuk, Iraq. The attack itself was nothing new; throughout much of 2019, a handful of rockets would fall from time to time on American outposts across the country. These rockets seldom did much damage, and prior to the 27th had yet to kill any Americans. In response to the most recent rocket attack, the United States launched a series of air strikes against the armed group held responsible for the rocket attack, Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH). The reaction from KH and its Iranian backers has been a significant escalation in tensions resulting in the storming of the US embassy compound in Baghdad.
Kata’ib Hezbollah was set up with the assistance of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in October 2003 to fight the American occupation of Iraq. Responsible for some of the most egregious human rights violations during the Iraqi insurgency, KH became known after 2011 for its role fighting on behalf of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, at the behest of their Iranian backers. Thus, while KH is largely comprised of Iraqi Shia, the organization is more subservient to Tehran than it is to Baghdad.
On October 1st 2019, protests began in Baghdad against Iranian domination of the government. These protests, which aimed to camp out in the diplomatic Green Zone of Baghdad, were brutally crushed by KH and other IRGC-backed militias. However, security around the Green Zone seems to have been lax on 31 December, as KH militants were quite easily able to make their way to the US embassy, surrounding it and setting fire to some of the entrances. The diplomatic staff, including the US ambassador, were reportedly evacuated over the preceding few days to a location in Erbil, but dozens (or more) State Department, US Military, intelligence, and other diplomatic staff (including foreign and US contractors) remain trapped inside the compound.
US forces across Iraq are on high alert, and an emergency reaction force from Kuwait has been mobilized and has arrived at the embassy. There is a very high potential the situation in the Green Zone will spiral rapidly out of control. We will keep you updated as the situation develops.
- US/Iraqi base near Kirkuk attacked 27 December 2019, one US contractor KIA
- US launches retaliatory airstrikes against Kata’ib Hezbollah in Al Qaim, killing 20+ militia members (including a brigade commander)
- IRGC/KH militia storm Baghdad’s Green Zone, surround US embassy
- US dispatches additional forces to secure embassy
- Those gathering outside the US embassy are not related to the months-long, widely-supported, largely-peaceful protests attended by thousands in Baghdad
Image guide:
1-6: Members of MV-22B loading up members of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command (SPMAFTF-CR-CC) 19.2, stationed in Kuwait, loading onto MV-22B Ospreys for the flight to the US embassy in Baghdad
7-8: AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 34th Combat Aviation Brigade flying over the US embassy in Baghdad dropping flares
9: MV-22B Ospreys landing at the US Embassy in Baghdad
10-12: Soldiers from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Task Force-Iraq at FOB Union III in Baghdad monitoring the situation at the US embassy
13: MV-22B Ospreys landing at the US Embassy in Baghdad
14: Members of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command (SPMAFTF-CR-CC) 19.2
