Shafaq News- Najaf

The head of the Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM), Muqtada al-Sadr, ordered Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades) to comply with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) decision to replace the commander of Samarra operations, a source close to the Shiite cleric told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Faleh al-Fayyadh, the PMF chairman, relieved earlier Saraya al-Salam official Ali Jakhifa Lafta al-Shammari of his duties as commander of Samarra Operations and appointed Youssef Mizan Naseef Ragheef of Asaib ahl al-Haq as his replacement. Security sources reported that members of Saraya al-Salam deployed across several streets and locations in the city in response to the move.

"The tension that occurred yesterday has been contained, following directives requiring commitment to official orders and a halt to escalation," the source said, adding that the PMF's decision was designed “to provoke a portrayal of the movement as insubordinate to official state decisions.”

Al-Sadr moved, according to the source, to pre-empt any confrontation by issuing a direct order for compliance, since the security of Samarra constitutes a "red line" for all Iraqis —particularly Shia Muslims— given the 2006 bombing of the al-Askari shrine and the subsequent security collapse that accompanied the ISIS territorial advance across large parts of the country.

The source also defended the Saraya al-Salam security record in Samarra, stating that no significant security breaches had been recorded since the force assumed responsibility for the city, and calling on relevant authorities to factor that track record into any future decisions on Samarra's security management.