Shafaq News- Baghdad

Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) chairman Falih Al-Fayyadh warned Kataib Hezbollah ahead of the July 29 Saudi-US strikes on PMF positions in Iraq, a security official with the group revealed on Saturday.

In a statement, Abu Mujahid Al-Assaf said Al-Fayyadh had alerted the group’s leadership and authorized him to make the information public. “Precautionary measures were taken at the time,” he noted, adding that the intelligence was incomplete and indicated that Kataib Hezbollah or other factions of the Islamic Resistance, an umbrella network of Iran-backed Shiite armed groups, would be targeted.

Al-Assaf also called for an end to disputes and criticism directed at faction leaders following the strikes.

Saudi Arabia announced on July 27 that it had intercepted drones launched from Iraq toward oil facilities. Two days later, US and Saudi fighter jets hit sites that CENTCOM identified as weapons depots and logistical facilities belonging to Iran-aligned factions. The PMF, astate-linked paramilitary umbrella, reported strikes on its positions across six provinces, leaving at least 20 members dead and 32 wounded.

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

Jurf Al-Sakhar

On Jurf Al-Sakhar, which he referred to as Madinat Al-Nasr, Al-Assaf renewed an invitation for Sovereignty Alliance (Al-Siyada) leader Khamis Al-Khanjar to visit, offering to arrange his travel and protection.

He dismissed concerns over conditions there and said that Kataib Hezbollah was coordinating with Babil Governor Ali Turki Al-Jamali.

Located about 60 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, Jurf Al-Sakhar remains one of Iraq’s most sensitive post-ISIS areas. More than 100,000 residents have remained displaced since the district was retaken from ISIS in 2014, while PMF factions retain control over parts of the territory. Sunni leaders, including Al-Khanjar, have repeatedly pressed for their return.

A federal committee is examining disputed land contracts and local conditions this month as Baghdad revisits the longstanding displacement issue.

Read more: Jurf al-Sakhr and Iraq's push to disarm factions

Al-Dora shooting

Al-Assaf also addressed the Aug. 28 shooting in Baghdad’s Al-Dora district that killed two security personnel and wounded four others. He accused those involved of links to a faction responsible for past sectarian killings, bombings, road blockades, and displacement south of the capital, while criticizing media coverage of the incident.

The gunfire broke out as security forces and Baghdad Municipality teams were removing unauthorized housing structures in southern Baghdad, killing Brig. Gen. Hisham Mohammed Talaa, director of the municipality’s Karkh police department, and security member Khalid Abbas Lafta. Four security personnel and municipal employees were injured, and authorities later arrested the main suspect.

Read more: Al-Dora clash highlights Iraq’s 3.5 million informal settlement crisis