Iraqi militias target KFC, other U.S. businesses to protest Gaza war

The elite Iraqi counterterrorism force that helped vanquish the Islamic State is back patrolling the streets of Baghdad — but this time they have a new mission: protecting U.S. restaurant franchises from vandals angry over the Gaza war.

In recent weeks, assailants have targeted several U.S. and American-style food chains as part of an “economic boycott” of brands they say help fund the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza. The attacks, including assaults by masked men on branches of KFC and Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, began in late May after Iran-backed Shiite militias called on their followers to protest the businesses.

The militias, their statement said, “reject the use of Iraqi territory for investment projects” whose profits they claim are funneled to Israel and its armed forces. The United States is Israel’s closest ally and chief supplier of weapons and aid, but that assistance comes largely from the government.

Iraq has responded to the unrest by deploying U.S.-trained counterterrorism units across Baghdad to guard against more violence. An effort, analysts say, both to reassure foreign investors and signal to powerful, pro-Iran groups that government forces are in control.

Targeting American brands as a way to protest U.S. foreign policy is common in the Middle East and globally…It was a normal weekday night in Baghdad last month when the chaos first erupted at a new KFC branch on Palestine Street. Dozens of people, wearing masks and armed with sticks, descended on the establishment, breaking windows, throwing chairs and destroying kitchen equipment while patrons hid or fled.