At least 25 more Marines were deployed to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after Shiite Muslim activists stormed Iraq's Green Zone in protest of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, seen here in October. Photo by Mohammed Abbas /UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- At least 25 additional Marines were deployed to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after Shiite Muslim activists stormed Iraq's Green Zone and took over the Parliament building last weekend.

The Marines arrived at the embassy, located in the International Zone of Baghdad with other embassies and government buildings, on the request of the U.S. State Department. Already there are more than 150 Marines and other private security contractors protecting the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.


Saturday, Baghdad officials declared a state of emergency after scores of protesters burst through the fortified area in response to calls by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for "peaceful demonstrations" against the rule of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and what he called a corrupt Cabinet. While photos of the Parliament building taken after protesters left appeared to show some property damage, no one was reported injured.