This archive report was first published on 3 January 2020.
On January 3, 2020, the United States embassy in Baghdad issued a statement urging all American citizens to depart Iraq immediately.
The move came hours after the US killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in an air strike.
According to the statement, US citizens should 'depart via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land' due to 'heightened tensions in Iraq and the region.'
