U.S. removes some staff from consulate in northern Iraq

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks to the media on the situation in Iraq on the South Lawn of the White House, before his departure for vacation at Martha's Vineyard, in Washington August 9, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has removed some staff from its consulate in Arbil, the capital of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region that is under threat from Islamist militants, the State Department said on Sunday.

"The Department of State has relocated a limited number of staff members from the Embassy in Baghdad and the Consulate General in Arbil to the Consulate General in Basra and the Iraq Support Unit in Amman. The Embassy in Baghdad and the Consulate General in Arbil remain open and operating," the department said in a travel advisory.