Security forces raid Baghdad mosque amid ownership dispute

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, a security force raided the Um Al-Tuboul Mosque in central Baghdad to execute an eviction order tied to an ongoing ownership dispute.

The mosque, which has served as the headquarters of the Sunni Fatwa Council led by Grand Mufti of Iraq Mahdi Al-Sumaydai since 2014, has been at the center of legal and administrative disagreements. These disputes have periodically resulted in security interventions, including raids and lockdowns.

A security source, speaking to Shafaq News on condition of anonymity, revealed that “four members of Mahdi Al-Sumaydai's security team were arrested for obstructing the operation.”

This is not the first time the mosque has been the focus of enforcement actions. In mid-September, police surrounded the mosque as part of a campaign to remove unauthorized residential units housing employees of the Sunni Endowment Office.

At the time, an anonymous source stated that a committee from the Sunni Endowment Office was present to enforce judicial decisions to vacate the mosque and the adjoining Fatwa House. Security forces were deployed to prevent clashes during the operation.