Shafaq News-Basra

Iraqi borderforces arrested three siblings carrying 2,000 pills of methadone, a syntheticopioid, at the Shalamcheh border crossing in southern Basra province, theBorder Guard Command announced on Tuesday.

A K9 unitdetected the concealed pills, leading customs police to detain two women andtheir brother.

Earlier today,Basra security forces arrested five suspected drug dealers after one openedfire on narcotics officers, wounding one of them.

In July,Iraq’s Interior Ministry said authorities had seized 16.8 tons of narcoticssince 2023, while courts issued 380 death sentences, 150 life sentences and 190international arrest warrants in drug trafficking cases.

Shafaq News- Basra

Basra security forces arrested five suspected drug dealers after one opened fire on narcotics officers, wounding one of them, the provincial police command said on Tuesday.

The shooting occurred after officers surrounded the suspect's home in Umm Qasr. He opened fire on the officers and fled, wounding the officer leading the team.

Later that night, security forces tracked down the gunman and arrested him along with four other suspects.

Police seized 150 grams of narcotics, an electronic scale, two drug pipes, cash, counterfeit US dollars, and the weapon allegedly used in the shooting.

In July, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said authorities had seized 16.8 tons of narcotics since 2023, while courts issued 380 death sentences, 150 life sentences and 190 international arrest warrants in drug trafficking cases.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Air Force F-16s carried out two airstrikes on an ISIS hideout in WadiZghaitoun, within the Kirkuk Operations Command sector, Iraq’s Security MediaCell said on Monday.

The strikes hit the target directly, destroying the site and killing everyoneinside, the Media Cell noted in a statement.

Earlier this month, Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) bustedan ISIS member and destroyed an ammunition cache in two operations in Al-Anbar,western Iraq.

Shafaq News-Diyala

The PopularMobilization Forces (PMF) ordered the evacuation of several sites in Iraq'seastern Diyala province after unidentified aircraft were detected in itsairspace, a security source told Shafaq News.

PMF sites inseveral Iraqi provinces, including Diyala, were struck in late July in jointUS-Saudi airstrikes. The PMF Commission said at the time that at least 20 ofits members were killed and 32 wounded in those attacks.

Read more: Iraq under regional pressure as neighbors threaten to strike factions

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s National Security Service arrested the main drugdealer responsible for bringing narcotics into prisons, along with nine othersuspects in Basra duringinspection campaigns at several Iraqi prisons on Monday.

The service said its teams, working with the JusticeMinistry’s Iraqi Correctional Service, carried out large-scale searches atseveral prisons. “651 mobile phones and 314 SIM cards were found hidden in variouslocations inside the targeted facilities.”

In January 2026, authorities announced the release of nearly16,000 inmates from its prisons in 2025. According to the Ministry of Justice,10,931 of those freed were covered by the General Amnesty Law, while another4,983 were released through other judicial decisions.

Shafaq News- Dhi Qar

The Counter-Terrorism Service(CTS) arrested the head of Harakat Al-Nujaba’s reconnaissance unit in southeasternIraq’s Dhi Qar province on Monday, a security source told Shafaq News.

A force dispatched fromBaghdad raided his home in Al-Fudhaylah subdistrict, south of Nasiriyah, andtransferred him to the capital for investigation.

The source did not disclosehis identity or the grounds for the arrest.

Al-Nujaba, an Iran-alignedIraqi armed faction founded by Akram Al-Kaabi in 2013 after his split fromAsaib Ahl Al-Haq, operates under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), astate-backed umbrella of predominantly Shiite armed groups. The United Statesdesignated Al-Nujaba a terrorist organization in 2019.

Shafaq News- Saladin

Iraq has begun dismantling the East Saladin Operations Command and moving its troops and military equipment to a newly formed Badia Operations Command tasked with securing the country’s desert frontier with Saudi Arabia, security sources told Shafaq News on Monday.

The transfer of troops, vehicles, weapons and logistical supplies began about 48 hours ago, with units moving through Diyala toward Baghdad before heading to their new positions in the desert.

The move is part of a broader reorganization of Iraq’s military presence across several areas, with the newly established Badia Operations Command taking responsibility for large stretches of desert in the south and west of the country.

“The dissolution of the East Saladin Command is expected to bring changes to the areas covered by other security commands in Kirkuk and Saladin,” one source added, noting that their zones of responsibility will expand to include areas previously overseen by the Command, including Tuz Khurmatu and parts of the Hamrin region.

On Saturday, Iraq had established the Badia Operations Command to secure desert areas in Al-Muthanna and Najaf provinces along the Saudi border following the withdrawal of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units.

The reorganization comes after Riyadh accused armed factions of launching drones from Iraq against the Kingdom in July. Joint US-Saudi strikes later hit PMF positions, killing at least 20 members and wounding 32, according to the PMF, a state-backed umbrella of predominantly Shiite armed factions. Baghdad condemned the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and pledged to prevent attacks on neighboring countries from Iraqi territory.

Security contacts between Baghdad and Riyadh have since intensified, with officials from Iraq and Saudi Arabia meeting US Central Command representatives in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss armed factions and measures to prevent further cross-border attacks.

Read more: Iraq under regional pressure as neighbors threaten to strike Iran-aligned factions

Shafaq News- Maysan

Three security personnel were injured during a protest over poorelectricity supply in central Maysan on Sunday.

Clashes broke out when security forces moved to disperse thedemonstration, with protesters throwing stones at security personnel, a Shafaq News correspondent reported.

Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Wahib earlier today dismissedNizar Qahtan Hassan as head of the ministry’s Training and Energy ResearchDepartment for “failing to perform his duties” and reassigned him to alower-ranking position. The move is the latest in a series of leadershipchanges since Wahib took office in May.

Read more: Corruption arrests in Iraq pass 210 under PM al-Zaidi

Power shortages remain a major source of public frustrationin Iraq, particularly during summer, when temperatures often exceed 50°C andmillions depend on private generators. Peak demand has exceeded 60,000megawatts, while generation stands at around 20,000 MW, leaving a shortfall ofnearly 40,000 MW. The Electricity Ministry attributes the gap partly to illegalgrid connections and shortages in natural gas supplies caused by regionalconflict and disruptions linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Read more: Beyond 50°C: How decades of conflict are heating Iraq

Shafaq News- Al-Muthanna

Iraq’s National Security Service (INSS) on Sunday arrested several suspects in the southwestern Al-Muthanna province as part of a network allegedly involved in smuggling petroleum products, a source told Shafaq News.

The operation also uncovered materials and equipment linked to the suspected smuggling activity.

On August 7, the INSS announced separate anti-smuggling operations in Basra, Dhi Qar, and Baiji in Saladin province, arresting five suspects. Officers also seized two tankers carrying about 80,000 liters of smuggled crude oil in Basra and Dhi Qar and uncovered a separate smuggling site near the Al-Siniya refinery in Baiji.

Iraqi authorities have stepped up efforts to curb fuel smuggling in recent months, including linking 40,000 tankers carrying petroleum products to a GPS tracking system to strengthen oversight of fuel transportation.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Interior Ministry on Sunday reshuffled five senior Federal Police posts, moving Samarra commander Lt. Gen. Staff Ahmed Al-Asadi to represent the ministry in the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, a security source told Shafaq News.

Maj. Gen. Jaafar Al-Sudani moved from command of the Fifth Federal Police Division to lead the Samarra Area Command, while Brig. Gen. Staff Murtadha Abdul Sattar, formerly commander of the Second Mechanized Brigade, took over the Fifth Division.

Brig. Gen. Staff Ali Kazem Nassif moved from the Special Missions Brigade to command the First Federal Police Division, and Maj. Gen. Fadel Al-Khazraji shifted from the Law Enforcement Command to lead the Second Division.

An official document is expected shortly.

In July, Iraq restored the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, merging the Joint Operations Command, the commander-in-chief’s personal secretariat, and the National Operations Center into a single body overseeing major military and security institutions.

Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Ali Al-Zaidi has reshuffled a series of senior military and security posts since taking office in May. The Interior Ministry remains without a confirmed minister, with senior undersecretary Hussein Al-Awadi temporarily managing the portfolio under Al-Zaidi’s oversight.

ShafaqNews- Baghdad

Iraqseized more than $6.7 million in cash, along with gold bars and jewelry, fromseveral homes belonging to Khalid Ghazi Atiyah, deputy minister of Electricityfor Transmission and Distribution Affairs, who recently faced allegations offinancial and administrative corruption.

TheFederal Integrity Commission reported on Sunday that its investigatorsrecovered 1.175 billion Iraqi dinars ($895,000) and $5.839 million. They alsofound seven gold bars and gold jewelry.

Asecurity source told Shafaq News on Friday that Iraqi security forces haddetained Atiyah over corruption allegations.

Lastmonth, the Electricity Ministry dismissed the general manager of the CentralElectricity Distribution Company, Alaa Samir, and his office director overcorruption allegations. Eight department heads were also penalized overaccusations of organizing fictitious and forged transactions.

Read more: Corruption arrests in Iraq pass 210 under PM al-Zaidi

Shafaq News- Al-Muthanna

Iraq has formed a new military command to securedesert areas in Al-Muthanna and Najaf provinces along the Saudi borderfollowing the withdrawal of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units, a securitysource told Shafaq News on Saturday.

Led by Maj. Gen. Emad Al-Maliki, the Badia OperationsCommand comprises three brigades covering Al-Salman and Busayyah in Al-Muthannaand Al-Shabaka in neighboring Najaf, the source said, noting that troops willbe backed by armed aircraft and reconnaissance flights and protect the road tothe Al-Jamima border crossing, which remains under construction. Local securityagencies will fall under the new structure.

The command has already taken over Al-Qarya Al-Asriyain Al-Salman following the PMF withdrawal.

Read more: Iraq under regional pressure as neighbors threaten to strike Iran-aligned factions

Al-Jamima is being developed as Iraq’s second majorland link with Saudi Arabia, alongside the operational Arar crossing inwestern Al-Anbar province. Baghdad allocated 200 billion dinars ($152M) for thecrossing, the Samawah–Jamima road, and related infrastructure.

The reorganization comes after Riyadh accused armedfactions of launching drones from Iraq against the Kingdom in July. JointUS-Saudi strikes later hit PMF positions, killing at least 20 members andwounding 32, according to the PMF, a state-backed umbrella of predominantlyShiite armed factions. Baghdad condemned the strikes as a violation of itssovereignty and pledged to prevent attacks on neighboring countries from Iraqiterritory.

Security contacts between Baghdad and Riyadh havesince intensified, with officials from Iraq and Saudi Arabia meeting US CentralCommand representatives in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss armed factions andmeasures to prevent further cross-border attacks.

Read more: Wednesday's US-Saudi attack on Iraq: What Is Known

Shafaq News- Al-Anbar/ Karbala

Iraqi security forces arrested an Iranian national on Saturday over the killing of a driver from Al-Anbar following a dispute over the fare, a security source told Shafaq News.

The suspect had been traveling toward Al-Rutba in western Al-Anbar but was denied entry at Al-Suqour checkpoint on the Baghdad-Al-Anbar road.

While returning toward Baghdad, he became involved in a dispute over the fare with his driver, identified as Adel Abdullah Mohammed al-Fahd al-Nimrawi. The dispute escalated into an assault that killed the driver.

The suspect continued toward Baghdad after the incident before security forces tracked him down and arrested him at a checkpoint on the approach to Karbala, the source said.

He remains in custody pending referral to the judiciary.

Shafaq News- Al-Anbar

Iraqi security forces closed several main roads in central Ramadi in Al-Anbar Province on Saturday after a suspicious vehicle was found parked in the al-Adel neighborhood since the early morning hours.

A Shafaq News correspondent reported that anti-crime and explosives units secured the area and began inspecting the vehicle to determine whether it contained any hazardous or explosive materials.

Shafaq News- Al-Anbar/ Diyala (Updated at 13:05)

Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) arrested an ISISmember and destroyed an ammunition cache in two operations in western Al-Anbarprovince on Saturday.

The suspect was captured after intelligence gatheringand field surveillance, while a separate search uncovered munitions left behindby the group, which were safely disposed of, the Service noted.

In Diyala, the Military Intelligence Directorate detained "two terrorists" wanted under Article 4/1 of Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law on previouslyissued warrants.

On Monday, the Security Media Cell said Iraqi forces struckeight ISIS hideouts within the Kirkuk Operations Command’s area.

ISIS lost its territorial control in Iraq in 2017 butretains cells in remote parts of Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar. Duringthe first half of 2026, security forces dismantled four cells and carried outabout 80 preemptive missions, while 479 arrest warrants were issued under theAnti-Terrorism Law, according to the Interior Ministry.

Read more: Iraq’s western desert from ISIS hideouts to new security challenges

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Security forces dismantled an internationaldrug-trafficking network in the country’s first anti-narcotics operationconducted deep inside Iraqi territorial waters, the Interior Ministry said onSaturday.

The 16-hour mission began at Umm Qasr Naval Base afterseveral days of surveillance near the maritime border with a neighboringcountry, resulting in the arrest of three suspects, including a foreignnational, and the seizure of 90 kilograms of hashish (concentrated cannabisresin) and two boats.

Iraqi authorities confiscated 16.8 tons of narcoticsbetween 2023 and July 2026, while courts issued 380 death sentences, 150 lifeterms, and 190 international arrest warrants in trafficking cases. During thefirst half of this year alone, security agencies broke up 378 networks,including 59 operating internationally, and recovered more than 1,977 kilogramsof drugs.

Read more: The Smuggler's Almanac: Iraq's war against narco-innovation

ShafaqNews- Babil

A Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) force arrived in Iraq's Babil provincefrom Baghdad on Friday, and security personnel searched the old Al-HillahCorrectional Prison for Men, ahead of a planned transfer of several inmates tofacilities outside the province, sources told Shafaq News.

Inmates atthe prison staged a protest on August 12 that lasted about an hour before BabilPolice Chief intervened. The government subsequently ordered an investigativecommittee to examine the circumstances surrounding the protest and the inmates’demands, according to the sources.

BabilPolice said the deployment of CTS forces and other security units near theprison was part of routine inspections at detention facilities under directivesfrom the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Meanwhile,the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights in Babil criticized the handling ofthe protest, citing “a lack of experience and judgment in dispersing suchincidents.” It also pointed to possible complicity or negligence by someemployees in allowing prohibited items into the prison and said “the facilitylacked equipment and conditions required under Iraq’s inmate rehabilitationlaw.”

Thecommission renewed its call to permanently close Al-Hillah Central Prison andtransfer all inmates to modern correctional facilities operated by the JusticeMinistry. The prison, built in the 1930s, “is deteriorating and at risk ofcollapse,” while its location amid residential neighbourhoods in centralAl-Hillah poses security risks and complicates the use of moderncommunications-jamming systems.

Read more: Iraqi prisons overcrowded, plagued by diseases, drugs, and torture, report finds

Shafaq News-Baqubah/ Jalawla

Iraq'sNational Security Service (INSS) arrested a Federal Police officer and seized awarehouse and several vehicles loaded with banned materials and medicinesduring two operations in Diyala, a province in eastern Iraq bordering Iran.

A securitysource told Shafaq News on Friday that the INSS detachments carried out anoperation in Baqubah, the provincial capital, and detained a lieutenant in theFederal Police accused of smuggling banned materials and medicines and wasarrested after more than a month of surveillance.

A secondteam then traced the case to a warehouse in the town of Jalawla, used to unloadsmuggled goods and transfer them between vehicles. Inside, the force foundseveral vehicles loaded with banned materials and medicines prepared forsmuggling.

Legalprocedures have been taken against the officer and the seized materials.

Read more: Corruption arrests in Iraq pass 210 under PM al-Zaidi

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Maj. Gen. Staff Special Forces Osama Abd Tarish officially assumed command of Iraq’s Special Division, responsible for protecting Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses key Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, a security source told Shafaq News on Friday.

The division also protects sovereign institutions, government facilities and senior state officials.

An official statement is expected shortly.

On July 23, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Ali Al-Zaidi assigned Brig. Gen. Osama Saad Hassan to lead the division after Lt. Gen. Mohammed Qasim Al-Fahd moved to command the Federal Police. Al-Zaidi has also reshuffled senior posts across the Defense Ministry and Iraqi Army and reactivated the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in the Green Zone under former Interior Minister Abdul Amir Al-Shammari.

Shafaq News- Al-Diwaniyah/ Diyala

Iraqi NationalSecurity Service (INSS) dismantled an 11-member forgery and fake employmentnetwork in Al-Diwaniyah and arrested two suspects carrying 2,036 narcotic pillsin Diyala, the agency said on Friday.

Security personnel inAl-Diwaniyah arrested the first suspect before identifying and detaining 10other members of the network. Investigators found that the network had offeredcitizens fake government jobs for $5,000 per position. INSS also seized forgedofficial documents used to carry out the scheme and deceive applicants.

Read more: Iraq: 250K graduates annually amid 20% youth unemployment

Meanwhile, Diyala Police arrested two suspects in possession of 2,036narcotic pills of various types. Authorities transferred the suspects and theseized drugs to the province’s Directorate for Narcotics and PsychotropicSubstances Affairs for further legal proceedings.

Earlier this week, the INSS arrested three suspected drug traffickers andseized about two kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in Baghdad and Diyala.

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi customs officers on Thursday arrested one suspect and seized about 45,000 drug pills hidden inside an empty tanker entering from Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing, the General Commission of Customs announced.

The Customs Commission did not identify the type of pills.

Al-Waleed, in Al-Anbar province, links Iraq with Syria through the Al-Tanf area and reopened on April 2 after being closed since 2014 due to the war with ISIS. Cross-border traffic has since expanded, with about 1,000 tankers departing daily through Al-Waleed and the Trebil crossing with Jordan combined, according to local officials.

In June, Iraqi authorities announced the dismantling of an international trafficking network in Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor and Homs provinces, where nine suspects were arrested and 200 kilograms of drugs allegedly bound for Iraq were seized. During the first half of 2026, Iraqi authorities dismantled 378 drug trafficking networks, including 59 international groups, and seized nearly 1.98 tons of narcotics, according to the Interior Ministry. Courts also issued 58 death sentences and 236 life sentences in drug-related cases.

Read more: The Smuggler's Almanac: Iraq's war against narco-innovation

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Iraq’s army is redeploying forces and conducting militarymaneuvers between Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu, a security source told Shafaq Newson Thursday, while the Defense Ministry denied reports of a major troopwithdrawal from the area.

According to Major General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for theDefense Ministry, the movements involved rotating some units, with additionalforces sent to new positions along the Kirkuk-Tuz Khurmatu route.

Kirkuk, home to Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen communities, haslong been at the center of territorial disputes between Baghdad and Erbil.Article 140 of Iraq's post-2003 Constitution established a process to addressdemographic changes carried out under Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime anddetermine the status of Kirkuk and other disputed territories, but the processhas never been completed. Peshmerga took control of Kirkuk during the ISISoffensive in 2014 before Iraqi forces reasserted control in October 2017.

Read more: Discover Iraq: Kirkuk, a city of oil, culture, and conflict

Shafaq News- Diyala

Iraqi security forces destroyedon Thursday a drone found near a base of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF),along the Khalis-Baqubah Road in Diyala province in eastern Iraq.

The operation caused nocasualties or material damage, according to Shafaq News correspondent.

A security source told ShafaqNews that the drone dated back to the recent war between the United States andIran and was not linked to the US-Saudi airstrikes that targeted a PMFheadquarters in Diyala.

Read more: Iraq under regional pressure as neighbors threaten to strike Iran-aligned factions

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Interior Ministry announced on Thursday the dismantling of an international drug-trafficking network and the seizure of 20 kilograms of marijuana in an operation coordinated with a neighboring country.

The ministry did not provide details on the number of suspects arrested.

Iraq shares land borders with Iran, Turkiye, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

In July, Iraqi authorities declared seizing 16.8 tons of narcotics since 2023, while courts issued 380 death sentences, 150 life sentences, and 190 international arrest warrants in drug trafficking cases.

Read more: The Smuggler's Almanac: Iraq's war against narco-innovation

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq is stepping up preparations to take full control ofits airspace as Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Alial-Zaidi reviewed the country's air defense readiness ahead of the planned endof the Global Coalition mission on September 30.

Al-Zaidi visited the Air Defense Command Operations Centerlate on Wednesday, receiving a briefing on the deployment of air defense units,operational sectors and plans to expand their capabilities.

According to a statement from the prime minister's mediaoffice, the briefing covered a 2026-2031 plan to develop Iraq's air defensecapabilities. The plan includes upgrades to radar detection and surveillancesystems, weapons, and command-and-control systems, with the eventual aim ofbuilding an integrated air defense network.

"Air defense represents Iraq's shield in the sky andthe first line of defense for its sovereignty," Al-Zaidi told air defensecommanders, stressing that stronger armed forces would help Iraq make itspolitical and military decisions independently.

He also directed the government to meet the needs of theAir Defense Command, improve its combat and technological readiness, and providethe resources needed to develop systems capable of protecting Iraqi airspace.

Iraq "will not allow its airspace to be violated orits security to be threatened by any party," the prime minister added,underscoring that Iraqi territory and airspace must not be used as a launchpoint for attacks against neighboring countries.

Al-Zaidi previously reaffirmed that Iraq will be free offoreign military forces from October 1, with September 30 set as the finaldeadline for the Global Coalition to end its military mission and complete thedeparture of its forces.

Read more: Iraqi Army after US-led Coalition withdrawal