Hundreds of Iraqis, many dressed in black, attempted Sunday to storm Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy is located, after the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Ali, a masked protester, told AFP “the martyrdom of Sayyed Ali Khamenei has hurt us”.
“We are here because we want the withdrawal of the occupying American forces from Iraq,” referring to US-led coalition troops who have recently reduced their presence and are now mostly stationed in northern Iraq.
AFP journalists near the Green Zone reported a heavy security deployment and the closure of the zone’s entrance, but protesters kept trying to break in.
Protesters, who had gathered since early Sunday, hurled stones at security forces, who responded with tear gas.
A security source told AFP earlier that “their attempts have been thwarted so far, but they keep trying”.
An AFP journalist said protesters, some holding flags of pro-Iran armed groups, cursed the security forces and chanted “for you Khamenei”.
Hussein, a protester in his twenties, said “we are here to respond to Khamenei’s martyrdom, and I want us to fight the US and Israel”.
Khamenei was killed on Saturday as the United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes on the Islamic republic.
