Attacks on companies with links to US brands rock Baghdad as anger over war in Gaza grows

BAGHDAD – A dozen masked men jump out of two SUVs and a white pickup truck and storm a KFC in Baghdad, destroying everything in their path before fleeing the scene. A few days earlier, similar violence occurred at Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken and Chili House – all American brands popular in the Iraqi capital.

While no one was seriously injured, the latest attacks – apparently orchestrated by supporters of Iran-backed anti-American militias in Iraq – reflect growing anger at the United States, Israel’s main ally, over the war in Gaza.

The Iraqi government has been walking a fine line between Washington and Tehran for years, but the eight-month war in the Gaza Strip has significantly increased the risks.

The conflict erupted after the militant Hamas group invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and taking 250 hostage. Israel’s subsequent offensives in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in the territory, according to the local Health Ministry.

A few days after the outbreak of the war, a coalition of Iran-backed militias called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched dozens of attacks on US military bases in Iraq and eastern Syria.

These attacks stopped in February – but only after a series of US retaliatory strikes following a drone attack on a base in Jordan that killed three US soldiers.

The attacks on U.S.-linked companies and brands in Iraq in late May and earlier this week represent a shift in tactics aimed at maximizing anti-American sentiment in the face of Washington’s support for Israel.

The attack on KFC was like a robbery – only the attackers weren’t after the money.

Surveillance camera footage shows the masked men entering the fast-food restaurant while terrified employees and customers flee through a back exit. The men then smash windows and LED screens, break chairs, tables, kitchen equipment – and whatever else they can find.

Minutes later, security forces arrive at the scene and fire warning shots, whereupon the perpetrators run back into their cars and speed away.

In other incidents, a sound bomb was thrown in front of the Caterpillar store, shaking the neighborhood and leaving a small pothole in the street.

Some of the expressions of anti-American sentiment were less violent.

Protesters marched to PepsiCo’s Baghdad offices last week with Palestinian and Iraqi flags, chanting “No to agents” and “No to Israel.” Another protest took place outside Procter & Gamble’s offices.

The attacked buildings and establishments are now guarded by Iraqi forces equipped with assault rifles and supported by armored vehicles with mounted machine guns.

Two representatives of Iran-backed militias in Iraq confirmed to the Associated Press that the attackers were their supporters and that their goal was to provoke a boycott of American brands and curb their presence in the country.

It is also an attempt to polish the image of the militias, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with their groups’ regulations.

Abu Ali al-Askari, spokesman for the powerful Iran-backed paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah, called on his supporters on Monday to get rid of Israel’s “plainclothes spy subsidiaries” – referring to companies and organizations perceived as being linked to the United States and Israel.

Essa Ahmad, who has organized more than 30 protests in support of the Gaza Strip, recently said at a rally in Baghdad that he and other youth activists were calling on Iraqis to boycott products “that support Israel,” even though he said they do not condone violence.

Fiery Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a rival of Iran-backed factions who, despite retiring from politics, remains popular with many Iraqi Shiites, called on Iraq to expel the US ambassador.

Political analyst Ihsan al-Shammari believes the attacks on American and Western brands play into the decades-old rivalry between Tehran and Washington.

“These attacks have political objectives,” he said. They send the message “that investment or the presence of Western companies in Iraq cannot survive.”

Renad Mansour, a research fellow at Chatham House in London, says Iraq has been a “playground” for both Washington and Tehran, leaving the governments in Baghdad with little sovereignty and room for maneuver.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who came to power with the backing of a pro-Iranian coalition, sought to appease his anti-American allies without stoking tensions with Washington or jeopardizing foreign investment in Iraq.

In recent months, Iraq and the United States began formal talks about withdrawing about 2,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq as part of an agreement with Baghdad aimed primarily at countering the militant terrorist group Islamic State (IS).

“The Iraqi prime minister … has promoted the idea that Iraq has exited the war and is focused on restoring relations with the United States, reviewing relations with Iran and advancing Iraq’s sovereignty,” Mansour told AP. “Of course, the war in Gaza has had an impact on that.”

The Interior Ministry said some suspects had been arrested in the unrest and that more were being sought.

But the two militia members claimed that the government did not dare to take action against the rioters, even though it knew who they were, because it feared an escalation. They warned of further attacks on US interests if the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq was further delayed.

US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski condemned the attacks on American and international franchises in a post on social media platform X, saying they could harm foreign investment in the Iraqi economy.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the attacks on “American business concessions harm Iraqi workers, Iraqi customers and sometimes the Iraqi capital employed there.”

“Ultimately, these are attacks against the Iraqi people,” Miller said. “We believe the Iraqi government should take appropriate action to respond to these attacks and hold people accountable.”

Iraqi security spokesman Major General Tahseen al-Khafaji told AP that the rioters would be pursued, as would anyone who threatened the country’s security and economic well-being.

“We are making significant efforts to protect investments and the progress made by the current government,” al-Khafaji said. “It is important to protect these achievements and create a safe environment for investors.”

Nevertheless, al-Askari warned security officials not to stand in the way of efforts to “eliminate” American interests in Iraq.

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Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.