Violent protest erupts at U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (NBC) – Approximately 100 U.S. Marines will be sent to the American embassy in Baghdad following violent demonstrations outside the compound.

A defense official says that currently, additional security is being provided by Apaches from an air weapons team.

The time frame of additional security will be dependent upon the situation on the ground.

Angry crowds, supporters of Iraqi Shiite militia, smashed security cameras outside of the U.S. embassy, hurled stones and set up tents near the compound Tuesday.

This follows deadly U.S. airstrikes this week that killed 25 fighters from an Iran-backed Shiite militia in Iraq.

The attempted embassy storming took place after mourners held funerals in a Baghdad neighborhood for the militia fighters killed, after which they marched on to the heavily fortified green zone and kept walking till they reached the sprawling embassy property which spans 100 acres shouting, “Down, down USA!”

The crowd tried to push inside, while outside the perimeter walls, some raised flags of Iranian-backed militias and taunted embassy security staff.

U.S. Embassy security forces repelled demonstrators with tear gas and live fire.

Iraqi TV broadcasted footage this Tuesday of U.S. troops inside the embassy offices.

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq and other staff members were evacuated for their safety earlier, according to Iraqi officials.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry officials added that embassy protection staff remains in place.

U.S. troops could also be seen in rooftop positions on the embassy buildings, holding the violence at bay.

Four vehicles carrying riot police approached the embassy but were forced back by the protesters who blocked their path.

The U.S. military airstrikes Sunday against the Iranian-backed Kataeb Hezbollah militia were retaliation for last week’s killing of a U.S. contractor during a rocket attack by an Iraqi military base that it blamed on the group.

The U.S. attack was the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in recent years and represents a new escalation in the proxy war between the U.S. and Iran playing out in the Middle East.