 BAGHDAD -- The United States said Sunday it was evacuating some staff from its embassy and beefing up security as deadly explosions rocked the Iraqi capital and advancing militant Islamic insurgents released graphic images appearing to show its fighters massacring captured Iraqi soldiers.
| Figures: we bug out just about the time the Iraqis begin to stiffen... |
| We're bugging out the embassy people. Good. Is anything being done about the contractors? They were surrounded by howling jihadis, last I heard. OldSpook was legitimately livid, as he reported knowing about 100 of them. |
| The concern about embassy staff is a little recent. Ask Mr. Stevens... |
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that an undisclosed number of staffers will be moved to Amman, Jordan or U.S. consulates elsewhere in Iraq not immediately threatened by the insurgent group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
It said the embassy would remain fully operational with "some additional U.S. government security personnel.'' The embassy, inside the Green Zone near the Tigris River, employs thousands of people, some local hires and others from the United States. |