Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani in a meeting on December 8, 2023. Photo: Sudani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has ordered the dismissal of two Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) brigade commanders and their referral to the judiciary in connection with a deadly armed assault on Baghdad’s Karkh Agriculture Department last month, his spokesperson said on Saturday.
“The armed elements that committed this breach are affiliated with the Hezbollah Brigades formation and are members of the 45th and 46th Brigades of the Popular Mobilization Forces,” Sabah al-Numan said in a statement.
Three people were killed during the assault on the agriculture ministry office in western Baghdad on July 27. More than a dozen suspects linked to the Iran-backed PMF have already been arrested in connection with the attack.
Brigades 45 and 46 are part of Kata’ib Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi militia designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Numan said the brigades moved without orders or approval, violating military protocols, and used weapons against security personnel, causing deaths and injuries, including civilians.
The findings of the committee formed by Sudani to investigate the assault also implicated the dismissed director of the Karkh Agriculture Department, Ayad Kazim Ali, in coordinating the armed group’s deployment. Official documents and Ali’s administrative file revealed his involvement in corruption, impersonation, forgery of official documents, and fraudulent contracts that led to the seizure of agricultural lands, according to the committee’s findings.
Numan also noted serious flaws in the PMF’s command and control, including the existence of units operating outside military regulations.
Based on these findings, the prime minister approved recommendations that included dismissing the commanders of the 45th and 46th Brigades.
An investigative council has also been formed to look into negligence by the commander of the PMF’s al-Jazeera Operations. Numan also said that a committee made up of relevant ministries and senior leadership will review unit deployments, professional efficiency, and the competency of commanders.
This is not the first time Kata’ib Hezbollah has clashed with Iraqi state forces. Previous incidents include a firefight with federal police in Baghdad in May 2023 and a confrontation with the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service at Camp Speicher in March 2023.
The group has also been accused of violently cracking down on the 2019 Tishreen Movement pro-reform protests and involvement in a November 2021 drone assassination attempt on then-Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at his Green Zone residence. While Kata’ib Hezbollah has denied involvement, the use of explosive-laden drones - a hallmark of Iran-backed Iraqi militias - and Kadhimi’s perceived alignment with the US fueled widespread suspicions of their responsibility.
Washington holds Kata’ib Hezbollah, a key player in the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance,” responsible for numerous attacks on American targets since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
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