US Embassy in Baghdad denies rumor of evacuation, with tensions high after largest attack in decade
Dec. 20 attack on Baghdad's Green Zone included 21 rockets
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Friday denied rumors of an evacuation at the building after the embassy was attacked earlier this week.
A tweet from a reporter saying the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was evacuated is not true, according to an embassy spokesperson in an e-mail to Fox News.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Ambassador Tueller is still in Baghdad and the embassy continues to operate," the spokesperson said.
The rumor may have started with a Friday tweet from Kurdish & Australian journalist Hawar Ali, who wrote that a "large number of staff have been evacuated in #US embassy in #Baghdad."
He later said "the ambassador and some staff still remain but some have been evacuated."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ISIS SLEEPER CELL ATTACKS IN SYRIA REACH RECORD LOW, DATA SHOWS
U.S. Central Command said in a statement earlier this week that the Dec. 20 attack on Baghdad's Green Zone – which included 21 rockets – was likely from an "Iranian-backed Rogue Militia Group."
The statement said that it was "clearly NOT intended to avoid casualties" and damaged buildings in the compound. The New York Times pointed out that Jan. 3 is the anniversary of the drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, one of Iran’s top military figures.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Times reported that at least one Iraqi citizen was killed.
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President Trump issued a stern warning to Iran Wednesday after the rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, saying he will hold Tehran responsible if one American is killed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and Edmund DeManche contributed to this report.