Police contain deadly clashes in Iraq’s Karbala
Shafaq News- Karbala
Security forces arrested 11 suspects following an armed clash in Karbala, southern Iraq, that left several casualties, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said late Friday.
A verbal dispute between two groups in Al-Taqa area escalated into an exchange of gunfire near a private gathering for a memorial ceremony, the ministry indicated, adding that “Police Command has full control over the area, while the security situation is stable with no further developments reported.”
Earlier today, an armed attack left one person dead and another injured in central Karbala, a security source told Shafaq News, identifying the victims as members of the Azharion group, a faction that split from the Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM) led by Muqtada Al-Sadr.
لمقتضيات المصلحة العامة وحفاظاً على المحافظة المقدسة تقرر :تجميد سرايا السلام في محافظة كربلاء المقدسة وغلق كافة المقرات.وعلى الاجهزة الامنية فرض القانون بصورة صارمة في المحافظة ومعاقبة المسيئين الذين يتخذون من تشكيل سرايا السلام المبارك غطاءً لأفعالهم المشينة. pic.twitter.com/gPGtLmtpdX
— سرايا السلام - مديرية الإعلام المركزي (@Centralmedia_d) April 24, 2026
The issue of Azharion dates back to September 2024, Al-Sadr ordered the group’s expulsion from Saraya Al-Salam (the armed wing of the PSM) and called for its boycott and reporting to security authorities.
