Pentagon says sending 750 troops to Mideast after Iraq embassy attack

Hundreds of supporters of an Iraqi Shia militia smashed security cameras on the wall around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, hurled stones and set up protest tents there.

Protesters and militia fighters gather outside the main gate of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to condemn air strikes on bases belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces).

The United States is sending around 750 more troops to the Middle East immediately, following an attack by pro-Iranian demonstrators on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the Pentagon said on December 31.

More troops from a rapid response unit of the 82nd Airborne Division are prepared to deploy over the next several days, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement.

"This deployment is an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities, such as we witnessed in Baghdad today," he said. "The United States will protect our people and interests anywhere they are found around the world."