Shafaq News- Al-Diwaniyah

An Iraqi Internal Security Forcescourt on Monday sentenced four security personnel to 10 years in prison anddismissed them from service over the recent rape of a female detainee insideAl-Nahda Police Station in Al-Diwaniyah province, a security source told ShafaqNews.

Those convicted included an officer,a commissioner, and two other personnel. Available information did not specifythe legal provisions underpinning the ruling.

The four had been detained daysearlier on the orders of an investigating judge over accusations of sexuallyassaulting the detainee, prompting the Interior Ministry to direct thestrictest legal and administrative measures against those implicated.

Two similar cases were recentlyreported in Najaf: Iraqi authorities detained four members of the Najaf PoliceCommand, including two officers, pending investigation over allegations ofsexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl inside a police station, while a courtordered the detention of a member of the province’s Traffic Directorate after awoman accused him of sexual assault.

Read more: Constitutional quotas offer Iraqi women no shieldagainst domestic abuse

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Iraqi forces destroyed eight hideouts belonging to remainingISIS elements in concentrated airstrikes within the area of responsibility ofthe 11th Division under the Kirkuk Operations Command, Iraq's Security MediaCell stated on Monday.

Further details would be released later, according to the cell.

On July 20th, an airborne special forces unit destroyed sixISIS hideouts in the Zghaitoun Valley in Kirkuk.

Shafaq News -Baghdad (Updated at 11:58)

Iraq hasentered roughly six million weapons into a national database as part of a statecampaign to bring arms under government control, a senior Interior Ministryofficial said Monday.

Speaking at apress conference held by the Permanent National Committee for RegulatingWeapons and Restricting Arms to State Control, a government body overseeingIraq's effort to place all weapons under state authority, Major General MiqdadMiri, head of the Interior Ministry's Relations and Media Department, said theministry had seized 143,000 unregistered firearms and closed 71 officesoperating "falsely under the name of the Popular Mobilization Forces(PMF)," an umbrella of predominantly Shiite armed factions incorporatedinto Iraq's state security apparatus.

"Thecommittee currently has a database covering six million weapons across thecountry," Miri said. "There was initially some distrust, and turnoutfor free weapons registration was low, but the situation has now changed, andregistration has increased significantly."

The ministryhas opened 845 registration offices across all provinces, according to Miri.More than 160,000 people have received possession licenses, over half a millioncitizen-owned firearms have been registered, and 2,668 stolen weapons have beendetected.

Miri said anydrone flying without official authorization would be treated as a terroristthreat.

Weaponsregistration closes on December 31, 2026, after which anyone holding anunregistered firearm will be considered outside the law, Miri added.

Responding toShafaq News correspondent's question regarding planning to impose a nationwidecurfew coinciding with the September 30 deadline for consolidating weaponsunder state control, Miri affirmed no such instructions currently exist."The information is incorrect. The procedures are technical, and there wasa precautionary technical measure, currently, there are no instructions on thismatter."

Read more: Days to disarm Iraq's factions: deadline or negotiable ceiling?

Shafaq News- Saladin

A Saladin Provincial Council member on Sunday denied reports that Iraqi army units had withdrawn from the outskirts of Kirkuk and TuzKhurmatu district and been replaced by Peshmerga forces.

Atef Al-Najjar told Shafaq News that he contactedTurkmen Parliamentary Bloc leader Ersat Salihi before consulting seniorofficials in Baghdad, who described the information as “incorrect and baseless.”

The denial came after reports circulated on Saturdaythat the Iraqi military had decided to dissolve the East Tigris OperationsCommand, which oversees an area stretching from southern Kirkuk to TuzKhurmatu, as part of a reorganization of military responsibilities.

An informed security source told Shafaq News that thecommand’s jurisdiction would remain under federal control through a newstructure to be established by the General Command of the Armed Forces.

Salihi had urged Baghdad to retain federal troops inboth areas, warning that any change could revive tensions and expressingconfidence that the country’s leadership would safeguard the interests of theirdiverse communities.

Kirkuk is among the territories disputed betweenIraq's federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Article140 of the Constitution established a process to determine the status of Kirkukand other contested areas, but it has never been completed. Peshmerga forcestook control of the province during the 2014 ISIS offensive before federaltroops reasserted authority in October 2017. Tuz Khurmatu, administrativelypart of Saladin province, is also disputed.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Interior Ministry has taken legal action against8,000 officers, personnel and civilian employees since the start of 2026 overoffenses ranging from bribery and embezzlement to theft and fraud, the Ministryreported on Sunday.

Major General Miqdad Miri, the Ministry's head of media andpublic relations, detailed offenses including, abuse or neglect of officialduties, impersonation, misuse of public funds, smuggling, blackmail andunauthorized disclosure of documents. The measures also covered intermediariesand other regulatory violations.

Stressing that efforts to combat corruption begin withinits own ranks, he reaffirmed that disciplinary and legal measures would applyto anyone who abuses public office or misuses their position, regardless ofrank or status.

A broader anti-corruption campaign was launched by Iraq onJune 28 under the name Dawn Crackdown, targeting politicians, senior officials,public employees and business figures accused of corruption. Government figuresrecorded at least 47 detentions during the campaign's first 24 hours, whilesources at the Federal Integrity Commission put the number at 67.

The campaign continued in the following weeks, with Iraqiauthorities detaining another 31 officials, employees, contractors and othersuspects between July 20 and 26 in seven corruption cases alone. Authoritiesalso seized more than 41 billion dinars (about $31 million), $400,000 and 45kilograms of gold.

Read more: Iraq detains top officials in anti-corruption sweep: What we know so far

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iran-aligned Harakat Al-Nujaba* Secretary-General Akram Al-Kaabi warned onSaturday against pursuing diplomacy with Saudi Arabia and renewed his call fora military response following strikes on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) sites.

“Diplomacy with the Saudi regime is futile because it hasbeen behind numerous plots targeting Iraq and its people,” Al-Kaabi said,adding that only an “appropriate military response” could hold Saudi Arabiaaccountable and honor the PMF members killed.

Earlier today, government spokesperson Haider Al-Aboudi saidIraqi security forces arrested three members of an unidentified armed factionallegedly preparing drone attacks outside Iraq. He said authorities seizedadvanced drones and linked the suspects to Iranian figures involved in droneoperations, without identifying the intended targets. Meanwhile, BadrOrganization Secretary-General Hadi Al-Amiri urged the PMF commanders tomaintain a high level of readiness.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced on August 7 itwould postpone its planned response against Saudi Arabia and the United States afterthe expiry of a deadline it had set.

*Al-Nujaba, established by Akram Al-Kaabi in 2013 following his split fromAsaib Ahl Al-Haq, operates under the PMF umbrella and has been designated aterrorist organization by the United States since 2019.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi security forces arrested three members of an armed faction allegedly preparing drone attacks outside the country, government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said on Saturday, adding that the suspects had links to Iranian figures involved in drone operations.

Al-Aboudi told Iraq's Al-Rasheed television that the Counter-Terrorism Service and Iraqi National Intelligence Service had infiltrated the cell before raiding it on Friday, seizing advanced drones and other equipment.

He did not identify the armed faction, the Iranian figures allegedly linked to the cell, or the intended targets of the planned attacks.

Authorities ordered intensified inspections at checkpoints on Friday, a day after security and military units were instructed to raise their readiness levels. The heightened security measures come amid regional tensions involving Iraqi armed factions, some of which have threatened retaliation against Saudi Arabia over recent strikes on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) sites, which killed 20 members and injured 32 others.

Read more: Iraq under pressure as neighbors threaten to strike factions

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Security forces raided the Baghdadhome of Abbas Shia al-Sudani, brother of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaal-Sudani, and recovered 29 pieces of gold or silver, five watches, anassortment of prayer beads, and 10 million Iraqi dinars (about 7,600 dollars), asecurity source told Shafaq News on Saturday.

Hours earlier, Iraq's FederalCommission of Integrity, the country's anti-corruption authority, denied thatany of its teams had carried out the search and dismissed claims to that effectcirculating on social media as false. It did not say whether any other body hadconducted a search operation.

The source said “a forceresponsible for security” in the capital's Kadhimiya district conducted theraid in coordination with the intelligence branch of the army's Second Divisionand the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency, and that the seizeditems were handed to the Kadhimiya police station.

Alongside the gold, watches andcash, the source said, investigators recovered two dozen sets of prayer beadsof undetermined type, a tablet computer and a used mobile phone.

A federal police detachmentremained at the property pending its handover to the Federal Commission ofIntegrity, according to the source.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases

Shafaq News- Erbil/ Saladin

Iraqi authorities seized 5 kg (11 lb) of crystal methamphetamine and arrested three suspects in Erbil during a joint counter-narcotics operation, the Interior Ministry stated on Saturday.

The ministry noted that the operation was carried out in coordination between the Saladin Directorate for Narcotics Affairs and Erbil's Counter-Narcotics Directorate after intelligence-led surveillance identified the suspects and tracked their movements before they were arrested.

Last month, Iraqi authorities declared seizing 16.8 tonnes of narcotics since 2023, dismantling an international trafficking network, and securing hundreds of death and life sentences against convicted drug traffickers.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

A joint security force arrestedformer member of parliament Ahmed al-Jubouri, known as Abu Mazen, in Baghdad onSaturday on corruption-related charges, a security source told Shafaq News.

The source said the arrest wascarried out under judicial orders.

The United States TreasuryDepartment placed al-Jubouri under sanctions in July 2019, accusing him ofcorruption and the misappropriation of state assets, according to its Office ofForeign Assets Control (OFAC). Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC),the body that administers the country's elections, disqualified him fromrunning in the November 2025 parliamentary vote.

Al-Jubouri, a Sunni politician from Saladin province in northern Iraq, leads the National Masses Party, also rendered al-Jamaheer. He served as governor of Saladin from 2013 to 2014 and later held a seat in the Council of Representatives, Iraq's federal parliament. After his party gained ground in the December 2023 provincial elections, the Saladin provincial council voted on February 4, 2024, to install him as governor again, but the Iraqi presidency declined to issue the decree confirming the appointment, citing prior criminal cases and calling the vote unlawful.

No further details on the case hadbeen released by the judiciary at the time of publication.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Iraq’s military has decided todissolve the East Tigris Operations Command, which oversees security fromsouthern Kirkuk to Tuz Khurmatu in neighboring Saladin province, as part of areorganization of military responsibilities and deployments, an informedsecurity source told Shafaq News on Saturday.

Militaryauthorities will determine how its forces and duties are redistributed, whilethe areas previously under East Tigris Operations Command's responsibility willremain under security and military coverage within a new structure to beadopted by the General Command of the Armed Forces, the source added. 

Meanwhile, Iraqi TurkmenParliamentary Bloc leader Ersat Salihi called for federal forces to remain inKirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu, saying the existing security presence had helpedpreserve stability. He warned against any measures thatcould renew tensions in the two areas and expressed confidence that Iraq’sleadership would take decisions that safeguard security and consider theinterests of Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu’s different communities.

Kirkuk, home to Kurdish, Arab andTurkmen communities, is among the territories disputed between Iraq’s federalgovernment and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Under Saddam Hussein’sBaathist government, Arabization policies displaced Kurdish and Turkmenfamilies and resettled Arabs in parts of the province.

Read more: Discover Iraq: Kirkuk, a city of oil, culture, and conflict

Article 140 of Iraq’s post-2003constitution established a process to address demographic changes under theformer government and determine the status of Kirkuk and other disputedterritories, but the process has never been completed. Kurdish Peshmerga forcestook control of Kirkuk in 2014 during the ISIS offensive before Iraqi federalforces reasserted control in October 2017.

Tuz Khurmatu, an ethnically mixeddistrict administratively belonging to Saladin province, is likewise among thedisputed territories. Its population includes Kurdish, Arab and Turkmencommunities.

Read more: Discover Iraq: Saladin Province’s long road to recovery after ISIS

Shafaq News- Al-Anbar

Iraqi police discovered on Friday 480 artillery shells stored in six ammunition boxes during a search operation in the desert west of Ramadi in Al-Anbar province.

Al-Anbar police said the cache, consisting of 57-mm artillery rounds believed to date back to ISIS's occupation of the area, was found in al-Tash desert and was secured for disposal in accordance with security procedures.

In June, one person was killed, and four others were wounded when a landmine believed to have been left behind by the group exploded in the province.

Al-Anbar, a vast desert provincebordering Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, remains heavily contaminated withmunitions left from years of conflict. Civil Defense teams in the provinceremoved 1,593 unexploded munitions in the first half of 2026, and the IraqiArmy's Field Engineering Battalion destroyed 897 explosive remnants underapproved procedures.

Read more: Iraq's mines battles take their toll

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agencydismantled three dangerous criminal networks operating in human trafficking,the agency's Anti-Human Trafficking Directorate announced on Friday.

Among those networks was an international ring specializedin trafficking human organs and exploiting victims through the illegal sale ofkidneys, the directorate clarified in a statement, adding that members of thenetworks were arrested and evidence confirming their involvement in criminalactivity was seized.

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights previously reportedthat authorities detained 5,107 people in human-trafficking investigationsduring 2025, while 385 victims were formally identified.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi intelligence officers and personnel from theCommission of Integrity launched a large-scale operation in Dhi Qar province onFriday to arrest more than 20 suspects, including employees from the NasiriyahMunicipality, the Real Estate Registration Directorate, and the BarAssociation, on charges of causing serious damage to public funds, a securitysource told Shafaq News.

The operation has so far resulted in the arrest of more thaneight suspects, including former Nasiriyah Municipality Director Qahtan Adnan.

Earlier today, the Dhi Qar Court of Appeal announced thearrest of several employees from the Nasiriyah Municipality and a number oftransaction brokers.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases

Shafaq News- Baghdad

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella ofIran-aligned armed factions, announced on Friday that it had delayed itsplanned response to last month’s joint US-Saudi strikes on Popular MobilizationForces (PMF) positions, citing appeals by Badr Organization leader HadiAl-Amiri and other Iraqi political figures.

In a statement, IRI insisted that “the blood of themartyrs was never, and will never be, a bargaining chip in political deals,”urging Iraqi officials “who have been blinded by power” to defend the country’ssovereignty. It also warned that the United States and its regional allieswould be held accountable, maintaining that the strikes had only strengthenedits resolve.

The group did not specify a new date.

Read more: Days to disarm Iraq's factions: deadline or negotiable ceiling?

Earlier today, Al-Amiri called on the factions to givediplomacy more time. Informed sources had previously told Shafaq News that IRIsuspended its threatened retaliation while awaiting Saudi Arabia’s response todemands that include an official apology and compensation for the victims.

Multiple Shafaq News political and government sources saidPrime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and Al-Amiri reached a pre-dawn understanding inBaghdad aimed at easing tensions. Under the arrangement, the government wouldsuspend planned operations against the factions while they refrained fromtargeting Saudi Arabia, creating space for diplomatic efforts. Theunderstanding also prompted security agencies to halt preparations foroperations against groups and individuals suspected of involvement incross-border attacks, easing the heightened security posture across Baghdad andseveral other provinces.

Read more: What happens to Iraq's armed factions after September 30?

Shafaq News

Any armed activity conducted outside state authorityafter September 30, 2026, will be prosecuted under Iraq's anti-terrorism law,the State Administration Coalition (SAC) stated on Wednesday, describingparties that threaten national security as outlaws who must be confronted.

The coalition, which brings together the country'smain Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs, linked the position to its commitment toplacing all weapons under exclusive state control, and expressed support forrestricting arms to the state under a ministerial program that parliament hasapproved and that is now in force as law.

Read more: What does Iraq's new government promise? A guide to Al-Zaidi's program

The September 30 date corresponds to a governmenttimetable to bring all arms under state control, a process that coincides withthe scheduled end of the US-led Global Coalition mission in Iraq.Iranian-backed factions, many of them formally part of the Popular MobilizationForces (PMF), an umbrella of predominantly Shiite armed groups, are theprincipal focus of that effort.

What The Anti-Terrorism Law Defines

Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Act, Law No. 13 of 2005,defines terrorism as any criminal act committed by an individual or anorganized group that targets people, or official or unofficial institutions,and that damages public or private property with the aim of underminingsecurity, stability or national unity, spreading terror among the population,or fomenting chaos for terrorist ends. The law was promulgated by thePresidency Council under the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq duringthe Transitional Period, the framework that governed the country at the time.

Article 2 enumerates the acts the law classifies asterrorism. They include violence or threats intended to spread terror orendanger lives; deliberate sabotage or seizure of public buildings, stateinstitutions and public facilities; organizing or leading an armed terroristgroup; and using violence to provoke sectarian strife or civil war by arming,inciting, or financing others.

The same article covers armed attacks on the army,police and security services; armed attacks on embassies, diplomatic premisesand foreign or international organizations operating in Iraq; the use ofexplosive, incendiary, chemical, biological or radioactive materials to kill orto spread terror; and abduction or unlawful detention for political, sectarian,national, religious or material ends.

A separate provision classifies certain acts as crimesagainst state security, among them attempts to overthrow the constitutionalsystem by force, armed confrontation with state forces, and instigating armedinsurrection.

Penalties

Under Article 4, anyone who commits, as a primaryperpetrator or accomplice, any of the terrorist acts set out in the law issubject to the death penalty. The same penalty applies to anyone who incites,plans, finances or enables such acts. Anyone who intentionally conceals aterrorist act or harbors a person who has committed one is subject to lifeimprisonment.

The law exempts from punishment anyone who alerts theauthorities before a crime is discovered or during its planning, where theinformation helps arrest the perpetrators or prevent the act, and it provides areduced, custodial sentence for those who cooperate afterward in a way thatleads to other participants' arrest. Funds and materials linked to an offenseare confiscated, and offenses under the law are classified as ordinary crimesof moral turpitude.

The government's timetable to place all weapons understate control runs to September 30, after which SAC said armed activity outsidestate authority will be handled under the anti-terrorism law.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's authorities ordered all security posts to intensifyvehicle inspections and take legal action against any driver found transportingprohibited items, including weapons, explosives, or other illegal materials, asource told Shafaq News on Friday.

The latest directive came less than 24 hours after theOffice of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister AliAl-Zaidi, instructed security forces nationwide to raise their alert level andcombat readiness and cancel leave for commanders and unit leaders.

Read more: Iraq under pressure as neighbors threaten to strike factions

Another Shafaq News source said on August 6 that theheightened measures are linked to the decision to restrict weapons to stateinstitutions and end the activities of armed factions by September 30. Theprecautionary measures coincide with the expiry of a deadline set by armedfactions for the Iraqi government to take a position toward Saudi Arabia on theJuly 29 strikes, as well as preparations to carry out new arrests of suspectsin corruption cases.

Read more: SCOOP: Iraqi deal pauses armed factions retaliation against Saudi Arabia

Shafaq News- Dhi Qar

Several Nasiriyah Municipality employees and intermediarieswere arrested after being found in possession of "forged seals, documents,and records related to residential land plots, as well as forged powers ofattorney and other documents," the Dhi Qar Court of Appeals announcedFriday.

The operation also resulted in the seizure of"communication devices and weapons" in the accused's possession.

The arrests follow a warrant issued Thursday by theNasiriyah Integrity Investigation Court against eight municipality employees,including former municipality director Qahtan Adnan, the former propertydirector, the urban planning director, and the secretary of the land distributioncommittee, a security source told Shafaq News.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases

Shafaq News- Nineveh/ Kirkuk

Iraqi security forces have arrested 11 suspects, including four senior officers, in connection with an alleged oil smuggling network in Nineveh province, a security source told Shafaq News on Thursday.

The detainees include members of Iraq's Energy Police, as well as civilians and suspected smugglers, the source said, adding that the network had operated since 2011 before resuming its activities in 2017, controlling oil transport routes between Mosul and Kirkuk by collecting illicit payments from tanker drivers under the guise of official fees and smuggling operations.

Investigators have also frozen assets and investments worth billions of Iraqi dinars that they allege were laundered through real estate and commercial businesses, including wedding halls and restaurants. One suspect was found to own 13 properties registered in his name, the source noted.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases

Shafaq News- Najaf

The Najaf Misdemeanor Court for Integrity Cases sentencedfive officials from the Najaf Cement Plant, including its director, to one yearin prison for causing serious damage to public funds, a security source toldShafaq News on Thursday.

Last month, Iraqi authorities arrested Oil ProductsDistribution Company Director General Zaid Al-Makhzoumi in Najaf on allegationsof financial corruption, manipulation, and forgery of official documentsrelated to land plots.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases

Shafaq News- Dhi Qar

An investigative court in Iraq's Dhi Qar province issuedarrest warrants for eight employees of the Nasiriyah Municipality overcorruption-related allegations, a security source told Shafaq News on Thursday.

Wanted persons include the former Nasiriyah MunicipalityDirector, the former director of the Property Department, the director of UrbanPlanning, and the secretary of the Land Distribution Committee.

Last week, the Dhi Qar Criminal Court sentenced a formerNasiriyah Municipality official to six years in prison on bribery charges.Earlier, on May 19, a joint force from Iraq's Commission of Integrity andcounter-terrorism units arrested 10 employees and officials accused ofmisappropriating public funds at the Nasiriyah Municipality and Real EstateRegistration departments.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases

Shafaq News- Al-Diwaniyah

Iraq's Health Ministry suspended three senior officials fromthe Al-Diwaniyah Health Directorate and referred them for investigation overalleged irregularities in the public auction sale of government vehicles, anofficial document showed on Thursday.

Those suspended are Hussam Rahman Hatem, director of theAdministrative, Financial, and Legal Affairs Department; Ammar Zuhair Ghazi,head of the Legal Division; and Faez Abbas Mohammed, chairman of the valuationcommittee.

Last week, Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity launched awide-ranging anti-corruption operation in Al-Diwaniyah, issuing nearly 30arrest and search warrants for officials, employees, and contractors accused ofembezzlement, bribery, and misuse of public funds.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Security readiness and combat preparedness have been raisedacross Iraq, the country's Security Media Cell announced on Thursday, as theAugust-6 deadline set by armed factions for the Iraqi government to take aposition on Saudi Arabia

Under directives from the commander-in-chief of the armedforces, PM Ali al-Zaidi, the move covers security and military forcesnationwide and includes training exercises and troop movements, the cell saidin a statement.

Shortly before the announcement, multiple security sourcestold Shafaq News that senior command had issued orders raising the readinesslevel of security and military forces across all branches and throughout Iraq.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's security and military forces across all branches havebeen placed on heightened alert nationwide, following orders issued by seniorcommand, multiple security sources told Shafaq News on Thursday.

The orders included canceling leave for commanders andofficers and keeping them on standby.

These precautionary measures coincide with the expiration ofthe August-6 deadline set by armed factions for the Iraqi government to take aposition on Saudi Arabia, the sources added, as well as preparations for newarrest operations targeting suspects in corruption cases.

Read more: Iraq under regional pressure as neighbors threaten to strike Iran-aligned factions

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq had set a deadline expiringThursday, demanding on July 29 that the government take action against SaudiArabia over the targeting of sites belonging to armed factions, and warningthey would respond if Baghdad failed to take a position.

Heightened readiness is also linked to the StateAdministration Coalition's decision to restrict weapons to official stateinstitutions and end armed factions' activity by September 30, the sourcesexplained.

“Security agencies have already begun taking field-levelprecautions in anticipation of any emergency or friction that could escalateinto armed confrontation in the coming period.”

The State Administration Coalition said on Wednesday thatparties engaging in behavior that threatens the country's security outsideofficial institutions are "outlaws who must be fought," warning thatany armed activity after September 30, 2026 would fall under the provisions ofthe anti-terrorism law.

Read more: Iraq's September deadline undercuts armed factions' case for weapons

Shafaq News- Al-Anbar

Iraq's Al-Anbar Directorate for Narcotics Affairs on Thursday dismantled a19-member drug trafficking network, including two women, and seized 408,000Captagon pills weighing about 68 kilograms, the Ministry of Interior reported.

Since 2023, Baghdad has confiscated 16.8 tons of narcotics, secured 380death sentences, 150 life sentences, and issued 190 international arrestwarrants in drug-related cases. It also opened 16 rehabilitation centers fordrug users, providing treatment to about 9,500 people, with more than 8,000completing rehabilitation programs.