The US Embassy in Baghdad has denied rumors in the Saudi media that the embassy staff was being evacuated.
According to Iraqi media reports, the US embassy in Baghdad this evening (Friday) in response to the news of the Saudi Al-Arabiya TV channel wrote on its Twitter page: “We are witnessing rumors that the embassy has been evacuated.”
The US Embassy added that US Ambassador Matthew Toller is in Baghdad and that the embassy will continue to operate.
Al-Arabiya television reported in a breaking news item, without mentioning the source and details of the news, that the evacuation of US embassy staff in Baghdad, with the exception of the ambassador and his entourage, had been completed.
The network, which claimed to have announced the news quoting its sources, noted that US and international coalition bases in Iraq were on standby.
The news was published at a time when no US or Iraqi officials had commented on the news or its accuracy.