Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups who stormed the U.S. Embassy's perimeter and hurled rocks in two days of protests withdrew on Wednesday after Washington dispatched extra troops and threatened reprisals against Tehran.
The demonstrators, angry at U.S. airstrikes against the Tehran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah group in which at least 25 people were killed, threw stones at the building while U.S. forces stationed on the rooftops fired tear gas to disperse them.
By mid-afternoon, most appeared to have obeyed a call to withdraw, issued by the Popular Mobilization Forces umbrella group of mainly Shiite militia, which said the demonstrators' message had been heard.