ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi security forces detained 13 people suspected of illegal possession of weapons in two separate military operations in Baghdad and Basra, Iraq's chief military spokesperson announced on Saturday, in the wake of multiple assassination attempts in both cities. Yehia Rasool, spokesperson of the Iraqi armed forces' commander-in-chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi – who is also the country's prime minister – released a statement on Saturday that confirmed the detention of 10 suspected owners of heavy weapons in the province of Basra. “After Basra Operation Command started an operation for the purpose of raiding and inspecting a number of areas in the province to enhance security and stability…the [operation] resulted in the arrest of 10 wanted individuals under various charges,” Rasool tweeted on Saturday. A simultaneous military operation with the same aim conducted in Baghdad led to the arrest of three others, Rasool also confirmed. “At exactly 4:00 am in the morning today, joint security forces began to carry out a security and inspection operation in the Hussainiya area of al-Ma’mal in Baghdad…the result of the operation was arresting three individuals on charges of possessing medium weapons and illegal vehicles,” Rasool said in another tweet on Saturday. Dozens of light and medium weapons were seized in the operations, according to Rasool. “The security forces will not tolerate any attempt to disturb the peace and will deal decisively with those who are tempted to tamper with the security of citizens or encroach on public and private property,” he said in a later tweet. Under Iraqi law, Iraqi civilians can only own light weaponry, with official authorisation. Baghdad and Basra have both recently witnessed a spate of assassination attempts. Two Basra activists were assassinated in the space of one week in August. Reham Yacoub, a 29-year-old athletics coach and attendee of the city's protests in 2018 over poor public services were shot dead on August 19. Civil activist Tahseen Oussama was killed on August 14. Several other activists in the city have survived assassination attempts in recent weeks. None of the assailants have yet been identified. In Baghdad, Iraqi security expert Husham al-Hashimi was shot dead outside his home on July 6. None of the assailants in these attacks have yet been identified. Iraqi activists have been warning of an increasingly threatening environment for those who speak out against the country's current political order. Data provided to Rudaw English from the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) last month put the number of protesters and aligned activists assassinated between October 1, 2019 and March 17, 2020 at 22. The country has been rocked by widespread protests since October 2019, with demonstrators demanding basic services, jobs, and an end to state corruption. When security forces and pro-Iran militias began attacking protesters, activists demanded an end to foreign interference in Iraqi affairs and called for the overthrow of the political establishment. Human rights monitor Amnesty International estimates that at least 600 protesters and members of the security forces have been killed, with more than 18,000 injured in the protests. Those carrying out assassinations of activists in Basra are “clearly well-connected individuals,” said Belkis Wille, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch said late last month. Attacks will continue with impunity until the government is both strong and willing enough to bring the perpetrators to justice, Wille added.
