Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department said it has overseen increased security at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

The department said it ordered the transfer of embassy staffers to neighboring Jordan.

“The embassy of the United States in Baghdad remains open and will
continue to engage daily with Iraqis and their elected leaders — supporting
them as they strengthen Iraq’s constitutional processes and defend
themselves from imminent threats,” the State Department said.

In a statement on June 15, the State Department said the U.S. embassy
was reviewing its staffing requirements amid the offensive by Al Qaida’s
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Until 2014, the embassy contained more
than 6,000 staffers, nearly half of them security personnel.

“Some additional U.S. government security personnel will be added to the
staff in Baghdad,” the State Department said. “Other staff will be
temporarily relocated — both to our consulate generals in Basra and Erbil
and to the Iraq Support Unit in Amman.”

The State Department said a “substantial majority” of the embassy staff
would remain in Iraq. The statement said the embassy would be “fully equipped to carry out its national security mission.”

“We advise U.S. citizens in Iraq to exercise caution and limit travel to
Anbar, Ninawa, Salah Eddin, Diyala, and Kirkuk provinces; make their own
contingency emergency plans; and maintain security awareness at all times,”
the State Department said.

Officials said the U.S. military has been deployed to secure the embassy
and other facilities in Baghdad. They said a small number of military
staffers were already in Baghdad.

“The temporary relocation of some embassy personnel is being facilitated
aboard commercial, charter and State Department aircraft, as appropriate,”
Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said. “The U.S. military has airlift
assets at the ready should State Department request them, as per normal
interagency support arrangements.”

  ‘reviews staffing requirements’, ISIL, John Kirby, U.S. beefs up security at embassy in Baghdad, U.S. State Department