OAN Staff Addie Davis
4:37 PM – Thursday, April 2, 2026
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued an urgent security alert to Americans in the region on Thursday following reports that Iran-aligned terrorist groups may be planning attacks in central Baghdad within the next 24 to 48 hours.
“Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours,” the Embassy stated. “U.S. citizens should leave Iraq now.”
Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups have conducted attacks on U.S. citizens and targets associated with the U.S. throughout Iraq, the embassy explained. It stated their may be intention to target U.S. citizens, businesses and institutions linked to the U.S., as well as Iraqi institutions and civilian targets, also warning that Americans have been targeted for kidnapping by terrorist militias.
“The Iraqi government has not prevented terrorist attacks in or from Iraqi territory,” the embassy continued, noting that terrorist militias may claim to be associated with the Iraqi government and carry government employee identification.
Though they are still assisting U.S. citizens, embassy and consulate staff are on ordered departure due to the heightened situation, and Americans were warned not to attempt to go to the Embassy in Baghdad or the consulate in Erbil. Instead, they should contact it by email.
The Embassy reminded travelers that commercial flights are not operating from the Middle Eastern country and its airspace is closed. Land borders with neighboring countries — such as Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — remain open, although flights are not available from all of them.
Iraq has been on the “Level 4: Do Not Travel” designation by the U.S. Department of State for years. The recent conflict with Iran, however, led to the order that non-emergency U.S. government employees leave the country.
On February 28th, the U.S., in partnership with Israel, launched strikes on Iran through Operation Epic Fury, with the current number of targets struck standing at over 9,000, according to U.S. Central Command. In response, Iran launched a slew of retaliatory attacks across the region, including strikes against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad last month.
President Donald Trump recently estimated that the military campaign could end within the next two to three weeks.
Additionally, this week, an American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, was abducted in Baghdad, with one of the suspects being connected to an Iranian-backed militia group, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
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