Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi security forces seized a large cache of weapons and explosives hidden inside a Shiite religious hall (Husseiniya) in eastern Baghdad on Thursday and arrested a security officer assigned to guard the premises, a security source told Shafaq News.

Acting on intelligence, security forces searched several locations, including places of worship, and discovered the cache inside Imam al-Hujjah Husseiniya in the Al-Saada neighborhood on Baghdad's Al-Rusafa side, the source said.

The weapons and explosives were concealed in locked rooms and underground chambers.

The seized materials included nine improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 12 explosive-device strips, six explosive charges, five hand grenades, a landmine, 25 rocket-propelled grenades with 25 propellant charges, 14 anti-personnel rockets, two mortar rounds, two PK-type machine-gun barrels, and various rocket-launcher mounts.

Security forces also recovered 35 ammunition magazines, 42 ammunition containers, 100 rounds of 23mm ammunition, and 1,000 rounds of assorted ammunition, along with body armor, protective helmets, communication devices, and wooden crates.

The discovery follows similar incidents in Baghdad. On September 24, 2026, security forces seized a large cache of weapons, ammunition, and C4 explosives inside a Husseiniya in the capital's Al-Maamel district. In May 2025, authorities recovered grenades and ammunition from another Husseiniya in Al-Ur, arresting two suspects.