Twelve masked men jumped from two SUVs and a white pickup truck, stormed into a KFC in Baghdad, destroying everything in sight and fleeing.
A few days earlier, similar violence had taken place at Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken & Chili House, a popular American brand, in the Iraqi capital.
No one was seriously injured, but the latest attacks were clearly orchestrated by supporters of Iranian-backed anti-American militias in Iraq and reflect growing anger toward the United States, Israel’s biggest ally over the Gaza war.
Iraq’s government has long maintained a delicate balance between Washington and Tehran, but the eight-month war in Gaza has decisively raised the stakes.
The conflict erupted after Hamas terror groups invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages.
Subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza have left more than 36,000 Palestinians dead in the area, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Days after the war began, a coalition of Iranian-backed militias known as the Iraqi Islamic Resistance launched dozens of attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and eastern Syria.
Those attacks halted in February after the United States launched a series of retaliatory strikes following a drone attack on a Jordanian base that killed three U.S. soldiers.
Attacks on U.S.-linked businesses and brands in Iraq from late May through earlier this week represent a shift in tactics designed to maximize anti-American sentiment in response to Washington’s support for Israel.
The KFC attack unfolded like a robbery, but the attackers weren’t after money.
Security camera footage shows masked men storming into the fast-food restaurant, sending terrified staff and customers fleeing through a back door.
The men then smashed windows and LED screens, as well as smashed chairs, tables, kitchen utensils and anything else they could find.
Security forces arrived on the scene minutes later and fired warning shots as the attackers returned to their car and fled.
In another incident, a sound bomb was thrown outside a Caterpillar store, upsetting local residents and causing a small hole in the road.
Some expressions of anti-American sentiment were less volatile.
Last week, protesters carrying Palestinian and Iraqi flags marched to PepsiCo offices in Baghdad, chanting “No to agents” and “No to Israel.”
Another protest was held outside the Procter & Gamble offices.
Iraqi forces, armed with assault rifles and backed by armored vehicles mounted with machine guns, are now guarding targeted buildings and stores.
Two senior officials of an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq confirmed to The Associated Press that the attackers were supporters of the militia and aimed to encourage a boycott of American brands and disrupt the militia’s presence in the country.
It’s also an attempt to bolster the militia’s image, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with the organization’s rules.
Abu Ali al-Askari, a spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed militia, on Monday called on his supporters to eliminate Israeli “spy entities in civilian clothing,” a reference to companies and organisations that are said to have ties to the US and Israel.
Essa Ahmad, who has organized more than 30 protests in support of Gaza, said at a recent rally in Baghdad that he and other youth activists want Iraqis to boycott products that “support Israel” but would not tolerate violence.
A rival from the Iran-backed faction, firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is retired from politics but remains widely popular among many Iraqi Shiites, called on Iraq to expel the U.S. ambassador.
Political analyst Ehsan Al-Shammari saw the targeting of US and Western brands as an intensification of decades-old conflict between Tehran and Washington.
“These attacks have a political purpose,” he said, “to send a message that any investment or presence of Western companies in Iraq is not viable.”
Renad Mansour, a senior fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, said Iraq had become a “playground” for both Washington and Tehran, leaving the government in Baghdad with little sovereignty or authority.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who came to power with the backing of a pro-Iranian coalition, has sought to appease anti-American allies without escalating tensions with the United States or putting foreign investment in Iraq at risk.
Iraq and the United States have begun formal talks in recent months to draw down the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq under an agreement with Baghdad, primarily to counter Islamic State.
“The Iraqi prime minister … is pushing the idea that Iraq is out of the war and is focused on rebuilding relations with the United States, revising relations with Iran and promoting Iraqi sovereignty,” Mansour told The Associated Press. “Of course, the Gaza war is influencing this.”
The Interior Ministry said it had arrested several suspects in the riots and was searching for others.
But the two militia leaders maintained that even though the government knows who the insurgents are, it does not dare go after them for fear of making things worse.
They warned that further delays in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would lead to further attacks on U.S. interests.
In a post on social media platform “X,” US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanovsky condemned the actions targeting US and international franchises and said they could affect foreign investment in the Iraqi economy.
“In essence, attacks on U.S. corporate franchises harm Iraqi workers, Iraqi customers and, in some cases, Iraqi capital employed there,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
“So these are ultimately attacks on the Iraqi people,” Miller said. “We believe the Iraqi government should take appropriate steps to respond to these attacks and hold its people accountable.”
Iraqi security spokesman Maj. Gen. Tahseen al-Khafaji told The Associated Press that insurgents would be pursued, as would those who threaten the country’s security and economic stability.
“We are making great efforts to protect investments and the progress that the current administration has achieved,” Al Khafaji said. “It is essential to safeguard these gains and create a safe environment for investors.”
Still, Al-Askari warned security officials not to impede efforts to “eliminate” U.S. interests in Iraq.
