Shafaq News / Baghdad Police Command announced today, Wednesday, imposing new restrictions on motorcycles in a quest to curb the assassination operations.

In a statement received by Shafaq News agency, the command said that it had decided to "prevent riding motorcycle by more than one person".

She added that its patrols will begin to detain violators, indicating, "there are no exceptions in this directive to ensure its implementation with professionalism and commitment".

The statement pointed out that this decision comes "to implement the directives of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, and the Minister of Interior, Othman Al-Ghanimi, regarding the necessity of doubling efforts to curb crime in all its forms, given that some criminals use motorcycles to implement their criminal plans".

Unidentified gunmen launched a series of operations and assassination attempts, last month, in a new wave of attacks on activists in the protests. Most notably in Basra, in which several activists and civilians were killed, while other activists were subjected to assassination attempts in other governorates, including Baghdad and Dhi Qar.

After the assassinations, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi tweeted, "Collusion with the killers or submission to their threats is unacceptable and we will do everything necessary for the Ministry of Interior and Security agencies to carry out the task of protecting the security of society from the threats of outlaws".

The popular movement began in Iraq in October 2019 and continues despite lower momentum, as it succeeded in overthrowing the previous government headed by Abdul Mahdi.

According to government figures, about 560 demonstrators and security personnel were killed during the protests, including dozens of activists who were assassinated by unknown persons.

Al-Kadhimi's government has pledged to prosecute those involved in killing protesters and activists. However, no real steps were taken so far.