Iranian-backed militias paramilitary groups who have been protesting against US air strikes in Iraq began to withdraw from the perimeter of the US Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, although some supporters remained.
The pro-Iran demonstrators left the besieged US embassy after the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force ordered them to withdraw a day after their dramatic incursion.
Thousands of Iraqi supporters of the largely Iranian-trained Hashed had encircled and vandalised the embassy compound Tuesday, outraged by US air strikes that killed 25 Hashed fighters over the weekend.
Iraq's caretaker premier Adel Abdel Mahdi called on the angry crowd to leave the embassy but most spent the night in dozens of tents set up outside the perimeter wall.
A small group of protesters remained and said they would not leave till US forces were expelled from Iraq and hurled rocks towards the compound as they brandished the Hashed's colours, torched US flags.
Security personnel inside responded with tear gas, wounding at least 20 people, the Hashed said.
Meanwhile, in a seeming change of stance, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he does not want, or foresee, war with Iran.
Asked about the possibility of tensions spiraling into a war with Iran, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida: "Do I want to? No. I want to have peace. I like peace. And Iran should want to have peace more than anybody. So I don't see that happening."
Trump had tweeted a day earlier saying, "Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities," Trump said on Twitter late Tuesday. "They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat," wrote Trump, adding "Happy New Year!"
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