ERBIL - Washington is "happy" to see that Iraq is doing more to ensure that the US embassy in Baghdad is secured, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday.
"We are happy that the Iraqis are doing more to provide increased security for our team on the ground there," Pompeo said during a State Department news conference, as quoted by Reuters.
In response to the rocket attacks that have targeted the US-led Coalition forces in various areas of Iraq, Washington recently threatened to close down the US embassy in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Kataib Hezbollah, which is one of the most powerful Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq, said that it would halt its attacks on the US forces if Baghdad sets a timeline for the withdrawal of the US troops from the country.
Pompeo did not give a clear answer when asked if Washington would still work on shutting the US embassy down in Baghdad after the Kataib Hezbollah's announcement.
"We have a rogue set of militias who have now promised not to violate the Iraqi people’s sovereignty and to take aim at the US diplomats serving there that are designed to help the Iraqi people," he said.