Iraqi police clashed with paramilitaries

A shooting broke out in the capital of Iraq on Sunday between police and fighters of a paramilitary force authorized by the state that includes groups supported by Iran, leaving at least one dead policeman and bringing 14 fighters to prison, the authorities said.

The clash took place in the Baghdad Karkh district after a group of popular mobilization forces (PMF) invaded a building of the Ministry of Agriculture during the inauguration of a new director, said the Ministry of the Interior in a note.

The PMF, known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi, is an umbrella mostly sciite of paramilitary factions formally integrated with the safety forces of the Iraqi state and include several groups aligned with Iran.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the PMF fighters broke into the building during an administrative meeting, causing panic among the employees, who warned the police.

Safety sources and three employees on the scene said that the fighters wanted to prevent the replacement of the former director of the office.

A declaration of the Operations Command, which directly reports to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, confirmed that the prisoners were members of the PMF and were sent to the judiciary. At least one police officer was killed and nine others were injured, according to the sources of the police and the hospital.

Sudani ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the accident, said the command.

The prisoner fighters belong to the “brigades 45 and 46 pmf”, added the declaration. Both brigades are affiliated to Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi armed group in line with Iran, according to Iraqi security officials and PMF sources.

Source: Terra

Rose

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