Iraqi officials skip parliament hearing over PMF strikes
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Senior Iraqi officials failed to appear before parliament on Thursday for a hearing over the government’s response to US-Saudi strikes that killed members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) last month, lawmaker Saqr al-Mohammadawi told Shafaq News.
Al-Mohammadawi, a member of Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee, said parliament had formally summoned senior officials from Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s office, as well as PMF Commission Chairman Falih al-Fayyadh.
Committee members and other lawmakers attended the scheduled hearing, but none of the three summoned officials appeared or notified parliament that they would be absent, according to al-Mohammadawi.
He said it was the second time parliament had summoned officials to question them over why precautionary measures were not taken to evacuate PMF facilities before the strikes.
Read more: US-Saudi attack on Iraq: What Is Known
The Security and Defense Committee formally notified the parliamentary leadership of the officials’ absence, al-Mohammadawi noted, adding that parliament would consider further measures.
On July 29, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US and Saudi forces had carried out coordinated precision strikes on sites belonging to Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. CENTCOM maintained the groups had attempted attacks on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure. The PMF Commission said the joint strikes killed at least 20 of its members and wounded 32 others. Iranian media reported that four members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were among those killed.
