Iraq arrests officials for granting illegal citizenship to Syrians

Shafaq News – Al-Anbar

Iraq is investigating the illegal issuance of national ID cards and passports to Syrian citizens, a case that has stirred political and public debate in recent days.

MP Alaa Al-Haidari confirmed the arrest of 11 officers, commissioners, and employees in al-Qaim district of al-Anbar province, where the fraudulent ID cards were issued.

Earlier reports indicated that around 30 Syrians had been granted Iraqi nationality to bypass security rules for those without official residency. Authorities also reported that senior officers received payments to facilitate the process.

The case emerged after officials stopped an individual speaking with a Syrian accent carrying Iraqi documents, prompting further checks that uncovered additional irregularities involving multiple Syrians.

The Interior Ministry later confirmed that the implicated officers had been referred to the judiciary and that all forged IDs had been canceled.

Speaking with Shafaq News, al-Qaim governor Turki Mohammed Khalaf highlighted that the district’s location on the Syrian border has long fostered intermarriage and family ties between Iraqis and Syrians, enabling relatively free movement across the border.

He noted that these social connections formed the basis for a 2006 government decision granting citizenship to anyone able to prove Iraqi origins.