A suspected retaliatory drone strike by pro-Iranian militias hit a major US diplomatic facility in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.
The newspaper said the attack hit Baghdad’s Diplomatic Support Center and no injuries were immediately reported.
Six drones were launched towards the compound, five of which were shot down.
The Post reported, citing a security official and a State Department warning, that a drone struck near a watchtower and people in the facility were ordered to “dive and take cover.”
GULF STATES INTERCEPT HUNDREDS OF IRANIAN MISSILES AND DRONES, ISSUING JOINT CONDEMNATION WITH US
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey stands alongside Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey, Gen. James Mattis, Gen. Lloyd Austin III and Sgt. Major Joseph Allen after a ceremonial flag revocation ceremony at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center on December 15, 2011. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
“The accountability is ongoing,” the warning said.
Iraq’s Ministry of Defense condemned the drone and missile attacks targeting Martyr Muhammad Alaa Air Base and Martyr Ali Fallah Air Base in a message on X, but made no mention of the hit on the US facility or Iran directly.
“In response to this sinful aggression, the ministry wishes to clarify and confirm the following facts: these air bases are fully sovereign and Iraqi, fully subject to the authority of the state and the law, and there is no representation of any foreign armed forces under any designation,” the government report said.
The security official told The Washington Post that the attack was likely carried out by militias linked to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose umbrella group of Iran-linked Shiite armed factions that have claimed responsibility for attacks on US forces in the region.
US embassy hit by drones in Saudi Arabia, while the Americans were ordered to take shelter on site
A billboard with a photo of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes, is seen along a street in Baghdad on March 9, 2026. (Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu via Getty Images)
At the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, the State Department had urged the Americans to immediately withdraw from more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, warning of “serious security risks” as the war with Iran intensifies.
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said on March 2 that US citizens should leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The department said Americans needing assistance arranging departure through commercial means can contact the State Department 24/7 at 202-501-4444 from abroad or 888-407-4747 from the U.S. and Canada.
IRANIAN PROXIES WAGE WAR AGAINST ISRAEL, THREATEN US INTERESTS, WHILE STRIKES IRAQ FOR NOT DISARMING THEM
Protesters walk through tear gas during clashes with Iraqi security forces at a bridge leading to the Green Zone in Baghdad on March 1, 2026. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/ via Getty Images)
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Officials warned that conditions in the region remain volatile and security situations could change rapidly as fighting related to the conflict continues.
At least nine U.S. missions, including Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar and Israel, repeatedly issued shelter-in-place directives or advisories at the outset of Iran’s retaliatory strikes against U.S. forces and Israel.
