Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi reinstated Ali Jakhifa Lafta al-Shammari as commander of Samarra Operations only hours after his removal, a source within Saraya al-Salam, the armed faction of the Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM) led by Muqtada al-Sadr, told Shafaq News on Wednesday.

Al-Shammari was replaced by Youssef Mizan Naseef Ragheef of Asaib Ahl al-Haq. The order originated from Faleh al-Fayyadh, head of the Popular Mobilization Forces —a predominantly Shiite umbrella formation integrated into Iraq’s state security structure in 2016— under which both factions operated.

The move triggered tensions in Samarra, with Saraya al-Salam deploying members across several streets and key points in the city. The group maintained that its presence would continue until security responsibility transfers fully to Iraq’s official security forces. Muqtada al-Sadr later instructed the faction to comply with the PMF decision.

Longstanding friction between Saraya al-Salam and Asaib Ahl al-Haq persisted. The latter’s leader, Qais al-Khazali, broke away from al-Sadr’s movement and the Mahdi Army before establishing the group. Competition between both sides has periodically escalated into political disputes and armed confrontations across several southern provinces, including Basra and Maysan.

Last month, al-Sadr and al-Khazali outlined a path for the disengagement of their armed wings, directing members toward integration into official state institutions as part of broader efforts to consolidate weapons under exclusive state authority, a central pillar of al-Zaidi’s government program.

Read more: Iraq to place armed factions' weapons under state control: What we know so far