BAGHDAD — The United States Embassy in Iraq issued an emergency security alert Friday ordering non-essential diplomatic staff to depart the country after Iran-backed Iraqi militias launched a second wave of drone attacks targeting areas adjacent to the Green Zone and Baghdad International Airport, officials confirmed.

The attacks, which began Thursday with strikes near a diplomatic facility, intensified overnight, prompting Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller to convene an emergency security assessment. The State Department elevated the Iraq travel advisory to its highest level, Level 4: Do Not Travel, citing an 'unpredictable and deteriorating security environment.'

Sources within the Iraqi government indicated that the Popular Mobilisation Forces-affiliated group Kataib Hezbollah claimed responsibility for at least three of the drone strikes, framing the attacks as retaliation for what it described as 'American complicity' in ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Gaza. The group demanded US forces leave Iraq within 72 hours.

The escalation drew immediate condemnation from Washington, with the National Security Council stating that any attack on US personnel or facilities would be met with a 'swift and decisive response.' Pentagon officials confirmed that additional air defense assets were being repositioned to protect the Baghdad embassy compound.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani called for restraint and convened an emergency session of the Iraqi security council, urging militia factions to stand down. Analysts noted that the timing — coinciding with elevated Israeli military activity in Lebanon — suggested the attacks were coordinated to signal regional solidarity with Hezbollah rather than as isolated grievances against the Iraqi government.