The US State Department has ordered non-emergency government staff to leave Iraq, the US embassy in Baghdad said on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The order covers non-emergency employees at the US embassy in Baghdad and the US consulate in Erbil in Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan, the embassy added in a statement.
“Normal visa services will be temporarily suspended at both posts,” the mission added.
The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iraq,” it added on its website.
The embassy advised those employees to leave Iraq by commercial transportation “as soon as possible.”
Wednesday’s order comes a day after the US Central Command said that US forces in Iraq and neighbouring Syria had been placed on high alert following “credible threats” from…
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
