Latest news with #IraqiNationalSecurityAgency
Rudaw Net
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iraq arrests 40 over alleged baathist plots, sectarian incitement
Also in Iraq Iraq cannot control militias attacking Kurdistan Region, says MP Iraq records 16 new cases of Crimean-Congo fever Iraqi parliament to convene on Kurdistan Region drone attacks PM Barzani says Baghdad added new condition to finance agreement A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Forty people suspected of spreading Ba'athist ideologies of former dictator Saddam Hussein's regime and planning sabotage attacks have been arrested, Iraqi security forces announced on Sunday. 'Security detachments carried out qualitative operations that resulted in the arrest of 40 suspects involved in managing and financing sectarian content and seeking to carry out sabotage operations,' the Iraqi National Security Agency (INSS) said in a statement. The law criminalizing the promotion of the Baath Party in Iraq was activated on July 30, 2016. It criminalized membership in, and promotion of, the dissolved Ba'ath party in Iraq, as well as any similar groups or ideologies 'These misguided elements resorted to false rhetoric that promoted the banned Ba'athist regime as a cover for marketing their dead dreams and inciting against the state,' the security agency added. A clandestine cyber group called 'Brigade 66' which is managed from outside the country and spreads Ba'athist ideologies was also monitored. 'Some of them [the suspects] confessed to receiving guidance and support from fugitive elements outside the country,' the INSS said. The Arab Socialist Baath Party ruled Iraq from 1968 until it was toppled in 2003 by a United States-led invasion that removed its leader, Hussein. The party has since been banned under Article 7 of the Iraqi constitution, which outlaws adopting, glorifying, or promoting the symbols and propaganda of the former regime. Hussein's oppressive regime was responsible for numerous crimes against humanity, including the Anfal genocide against the Kurds. The campaign reached its deadliest point in 1988 with the Halabja chemical attack, which killed around 5,000 people and injured 10,000 more. The dictator was executed in 2006 after being sentenced to death in a separate case for the killing of 148 Shiites. His trial on charges related to the Anfal genocide was still ongoing at the time of his execution.
The Independent
31-01-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Iraq arrests former security official over execution of Shiite cleric who opposed Saddam Hussein
Iraq 's National Security Agency said Friday it arrested a former high-level security official for his involvement in the 1980 execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and his sister during Saddam Hussein 's brutal crackdown on religious opposition. Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr was a leading Iraqi Shiite cleric and political critic who opposed the secular Ba'athist government of the former Iraqi president. His opposition intensified following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which heightened Saddam's fears of a Shiite-led uprising in Iraq. In 1980, as the government moved against Shiite activists, al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda — a religious scholar and activist who spoke out against government oppression — were arrested. Reports indicate they were tortured before being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980. The government refused to return their bodies, fearing their graves would become rallying points for resistance. Al-Sadr's execution deepened Shiite opposition to Saddam, fueling movements that contributed to the Ba'athist government's eventual downfall. The primary suspect in al-Sadr's execution, Saadoun Sabri Jamil Jumaa al-Qaisi, was among five people detained five months ago, a security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Associated Press. Al-Qaisi held high-ranking positions under Saddam, including director of state security and director of security in the port city of Basra as well as the central city of Najaf. He is accused of overseeing al-Sadr's detention and execution. After the 2003 fall of Saddam's government, al-Qaisi fled to Syria, assuming the alias 'Hajj Saleh' to evade prosecution, the security source said. He returned to Iraq on Feb. 26, 2023, and was arrested in Erbil — 44 years after the execution. According to the Iraqi National Security Agency, al-Qaisi faces a potential death sentence. A final verdict is expected next week. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani praised the arrest on X, saying, 'We reaffirm our commitment to tracking down criminals, no matter how long they have been on the run.'
