Attacks on businesses linked to US brands rattle Baghdad as anger over the war in Gaza surges

BAGHDAD (AP) — A dozen masked men jump out of two SUVs and a white pickup and storm a KFC in Baghdad, smashing everything in sight before fleeing the scene. A few days earlier, similar violence played out at Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken and Chili House — all American brands popular in the Iraqi capital.

Though no one was seriously hurt, the recent attacks — apparently orchestrated by supporters of Iran-backed, anti-American militias in Iraq — reflect surging anger against the United States, Israel’s top ally, over the war in Gaza.

Iraqi governments have for years walked a delicate line between Washington and Tehran, but the eight-month war in Gaza has critically upped the stakes.

The conflict erupted after the militant Hamas group stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking 250 hostage. Israel’s subsequent offensives in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in the territory, according to the Health Ministry there.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Israeli strike kills at least 33 people at a Gaza school the military claims was being used by Hamas </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Spain applies to join South Africa’s case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the US Congress on July 24 </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

Days after the war broke out, a coalition