Dozens of Iraqi Shia militia supporters have broken into the US embassy in Baghdad, storming the compound with gunshots and sirens ringing out, after US air strikes on Hezbollah that killed 25.
The US ambassador and other staff have been evacuated with a few protection staff, including US soldiers, remaining at the compound where thousands of violent demonstrators, some wearing militia uniforms, thronged outside the main gate on Tuesday.
Flames were seen rising from the compound where at least three US soldiers stood on the rooftop while tear gas filled the entrance to the building.
Thousands of mourners had held funerals for the fighters of the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah earlier before rushing through the heavily fortified Green Zone, burning US flags as they headed towards the consulate in the Iraqi capital.
Footage showed a rapidly deteriorating scene as protesters set fire to barricades surrounding the consulate compound and hurling rocks.
Men were seen pressed up against the windows, taunting members of the remaining security detail and spraying pro-Hezbollah graffiti over the glass.
It comes after US fighter jets decimated three locations in Iraq on Sunday night, in retaliation for last week's killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack in the region.
The US attack - the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in recent years - and the calls for retaliation represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the US and Iran playing out in the Middle East.
Security guards were seen retreating inside the embassy as protesters hurled water bottles and smashed security cameras outside the buildings.
They raised yellow Kataeb Hezbollah flags and taunted the embassy's security staff who remained behind the glass windows in the gates' reception area.
They sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows in red in support of the Kataeb Hezbollah militia: 'Closed in the name of the resistance.'
Hundreds of angry protesters, some in militia uniforms, set up tents outside the embassy.
As tempers rose, the mob set fire to three trailers used by security guards along the embassy wall.
No one was immediately reported hurt in the rampage and security staff had withdrawn to inside the embassy earlier, soon after protesters gathered outside.
On Sunday night, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the strikes send the message that the U.S. will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardize American lives.
The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia had vowed Monday to retaliate for the U.S. military strikes in Iraq and Syria that killed 25 of its fighters and wounded dozens.
The attack and vows for revenge raised concerns of new attacks that could threaten American interests in the region.
The U.S. attack outraged both the militias and the Iraqi government which said it will reconsider its relationship with the U.S.-led coalition - the first time it has said it will do so since an agreement was struck to keep some U.S. troops in the country.
