Maysan police arrest 10 members of banned Qurban suicide group
Shafaq News/ On Monday, Maysan Police Chief announced the arrest of members of the Qurban suicide group.
On May 15, 2023, a local source in Dhi Qar informed Shafaq News Agency that a group called the Qurban or “Al-Ali al-Alahiya,” known as the self-sacrifice movement and banned under Iraqi law, had emerged in the area, causing panic among the local community after its members hanged themselves during a Husseini procession.
Maysan Governorate Police Chief Lafta al-Muhammadawi announced that police arrested 10 members of the Behavioral Sacrifice Movement in the governorate.
“Recent suicide cases among young people in the governorate and nearby regions prompted the creation of a specialized team to investigate and gather information on emerging movements. After collecting evidence and monitoring suspicious activities, authorities discovered a group residing in a local home. With judicial approval, a task force from the Hattin Police Department and the National Security Service raided the residence, arresting 10 members of the movement,” Al-Muhammadawi reported.
The Major General stated, “According to our information, this deviant group worships Imam Ali and conducts a ritual where they draw lots to select someone as an offering. The suspects have been sent to the security detention center, and the investigating judge has ordered their arrest under Article 372 for Religious Extremism.”
Brigadier General Miqdad Miri, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior and the Security Media Cell, stated, “We have arrested members of the so-called Behavioral Sacrifice Movement. We will not allow such deviant movements to spread and urge all institutions to conduct awareness campaigns warning of their societal dangers."
Notably, the extremist group was formed during the lifetime of the late religious leader Mohammed Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, who disassociated himself from them.
