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Militia rockets kill five civilians in Iraqi capital as US mulls embassy withdrawal

Two women and three children were killed at a Baghdad home on Monday as the United States threatens to pull its diplomatic mission.

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A handout picture received from the US Embassy in Iraq on Dec. 31, 2019, shows smoke billowing from a sentry box at an entrance of the embassy in the capital, Baghdad, after supporters and members of the Hashid Shaabi military network breached the outer wall of the diplomatic mission during a rally to vent anger over weekend airstrikes that killed pro-Iran fighters in western Iraq. — US EMBASSY IN IRAQ/AFP via Getty Images

Three children and two women were killed by a rocket strike on a home in a Baghdad neighborhood on Monday.

The incident, announced by Iraq’s Security Media Cell, comes amid threats by US officials to withdraw Washington’s embassy in Baghdad if the militia attacks are not stopped by Iraq’s security forces.

Two other children were also wounded by the rocket attack, according to the Security Media Cell, which said the rockets “completely destroyed” the home in the Albu Shaaban neighborhood of al-Radwaniyah district of Baghdad. The Security Media Cell said the rockets were launched from al-Jihad district.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week warned Iraqi President Barham Salih that the United States would consider withdrawing its embassy in Baghdad and may confront the militias unilaterally if their attacks on foreign diplomatic missions and convoys are not halted by Iraq’s security forces.

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