Shafaq News/ Iraqi security forces on Thursday arrested 14 people in the southern city of Samawa in connection with a series of suicides blamed on a fringe religious sect, a security source said.

The detainees are suspected members of the Qurban group, also known as al-Allahiyah or Ali Allahism, which has been linked to at least seven deaths in the past two months, the source told Shafaq News Agency.

"These individuals were arrested based on arrest warrants issued under Article 372 of the Iraqi Penal Code," the source said. "Previous detainees had implicated them in their confessions."

The Qurban sect, which has gained notoriety for its extremist beliefs, has been under scrutiny after a surge in suicides in the region. Followers of the group are said to believe that Imam Ali, a revered figure in Shiite Islam, is divine and that some members must sacrifice themselves in his name.

The group's practices first made headlines last year after an apparent case of linked suicides. The Alahiya movement again raised concerns in May 2024 when several of its followers in Dhi Qar, including a 15-year-old boy, were reportedly found dead in acts of apparent ritual suicide.

The approximately 2,500-strong Allahiyah movement in Dhi Qar is reported to be a splinter group made up of followers of the prominent late Shiite cleric Muhammad Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr (1943–99). Of note, his son and prominent Shiite cleric and politician Muqtada al-Sadr has previously disavowed similar mystical groups due to their nonconformist practices.

While largely limited to Iraq's southern governorates, some observers suggest that the group's beliefs are inspired by Iranian religious movements that allegedly promote the spiritual primacy of Ali bin Abi Talib.