A dozen masked men jump out of two SUVs and a white pick-up 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 US, 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 October 7, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking 250 hostages. Israel’s subsequent offensives in Gaza have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in the territory, according to the health ministry there.

Days after the war broke out, a coalition of Iran-backed militias dubbed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched dozens of attacks on bases housing US troops in Iraq and eastern Syria. Those attacks stopped in February — but only after a series of retaliatory US strikes following a drone hit on a base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers.

The attacks on US-linked businesses and brands in Iraq in late May and earlier this week represent a change in tactics intended to maximise anti-US sentiment over Washington’s support for Israel.

The KFC attack unfolded like a robbery — except the attackers weren’t after the money.

Security camera footage shows the masked men bursting into the fast food restaurant as horrified workers and customers escape through a back exit. The men then proceeded to smash windows and LED screens, break chairs, tables, kitchen appliances — and whatever else they could find.

Minutes later, security forces arrived at the scene and fired warning shots as perpetrators ran back into their cars and sped away.

In other incidents, a sound bomb was hurled outside the Caterpillar company store, rattling the neighbourhood and leaving a small pothole in the street.

Some of the displays of anti-US sentiment have been less volatile.

Protesters carrying Palestinian and Iraqi flags last week marched up to the PepsiCo offices in Baghdad, chanting “No to agents” and “No to Israel”. Another protest took place outside the offices of Procter & Gamble. Iraqi forces armed with assault rifles and backed by armoured vehicles with mounted machine guns now guard the targeted premises and franchises.