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Iraq

3 killed in Iraq clashes between armed group, security forces

2025-07-30

[AnNahar] Three people, including a policeman, were killed Sunday during clashes in Baghdad between security forces and pro-Iran gunmen, according to authorities and a member of a local armed group.

The violence erupted when armed men stormed a local office of the agriculture ministry in the city's south, the interior ministry said.

Police forces responding to the scene "came under fire", resulting in several injuries among security personnel, the ministry added.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command, which coordinates between security forces and the military, said 14 suspects were detained who belonged to the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of former paramilitary units that have been integrated into the regular security forces.

Several other security sources, however, told AFP that the armed men were affiliated with the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, a faction within the Hashed al-Shaabi that sometimes acts on its own.

Kataeb Hezbollah had opposed a recent appointment at the agriculture office, which is located in an area where the group holds influence, the sources said on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak to the media.

"One policeman was killed" and others were wounded, said one official.

Another security source said one policeman and one civilian were killed.

A member of Kataeb Hezbollah said that a fighter from the group was also killed and six others wounded.

He added that the group "does not want to escalate", and would allow the judiciary to take its course.

After decades of war and turmoil, gun battles -- sometimes sparked by minor feuds -- are not uncommon in Iraq, where many armed groups operate.

Iraq is led by an Iran-aligned coalition called the Coordination Framework, which brings together Shiite Islamist parties and factions of the Hashed al-Shaabi.

US calls on Iraq to punish pro-Iran militants over deadly Baghdad attack

[Rudaw] The United States on Monday called on the Iraqi government to bring the perpetrators of a deadly Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) attack on an agriculture ministry branch in Baghdad the day prior to account "without delay" and hold an Iran-backed faction responsible.

An "armed assault" by the PMF on an agriculture ministry office in Baghdad’s Karkh district on Sunday left three people dead - a policeman, a civilian, and a member of the powerful Iran-backed Iraqi gang Kataib Hezbollah. Baghdad confirmed that the perpetrators of the attack were PMF members.

"We call on the Government of Iraq to take measures to bring these perpetrators and their leaders to justice without delay," the US Embassy in Baghdad said in a statement.

It blamed the PMF-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah, a US-designated gang, for the attack.

"We are saddened by the loss of life, which included federal police and an innocent civilian, and wish a swift recovery to the maimed," the embassy stated.

Washington holds Kataib Hezbollah, a key player in the Iran-led ’Axis of Resistance®,’ responsible for numerous attacks on US assets in the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas
Hamas

..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
conflict in October 2023.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
i vowed on Sunday to hold the perpetrators accountable and ordered a probe into the attack.

"No one has the right to replace the state or its authorities, and no party is above the law," Sudani said in an emergency security meeting following the attack.

Iraq’s Shiite-led Coordination Framework also condemned the attack as a "violation of the law and state procedures."

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