Shafaq News – Baghdad

On Saturday, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) arrested Abdul Razzaq Hasj Ouda, a senior figure in Saddam Hussein’s banned Baath Party.

Formed in 2014, the PMF operates as part of Iraq’s official security forces and has expanded its counterintelligence role to target “remnants of the former regime” and groups it deems threats to national stability.

In a statement, the PMF’s Intelligence Directorate said Ouda had served in the regime’s security apparatus and participated in executions, including the killing of four brothers. He was also accused of working to rebuild underground Baath networks.

The arrest follows a recent crackdown in Dhi Qar, where several senior Baathists were detained in what officials described as the "largest" such operation in years.

The Baath Party, outlawed since 2003, remains banned under Iraq’s constitution and the 2016 law prohibiting its activities. The 2008 Accountability and Justice Act continues to authorize the prosecution of former regime members involved in crimes or attempts to reorganize the party.

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