Iraq says US evacuation unrelated to threats on its territory

The evacuation of some US embassy personnel from Iraq and other areas in the Middle East was a “regulatory precautionary measure” taken by Washington and not based on any credible security threat within Iraq, Iraq’s military spokesperson said Thursday.

“Intelligence and field reports do not indicate actual threats that would affect the work of diplomatic missions,” the spokesman said, according to Iraq’s state news agency.

"[The decision] has nothing to do with the presence of any field security indicators within Iraqi territory.”