The raids focused on Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, home to government buildings and foreign embassies. Access roads were blocked in the morning. According to a security report obtained by the Associated Press, seven people were arrested, including five members of parliament.
The arrests are based on testimony from former deputy oil minister Adnan al-Jumaili, who was himself detained last month. Some of the accused belong to the political camp of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The specific charges against them have not been disclosed.
Al-Sudani’s bloc won the parliamentary elections in November, but he declined the premiership. In the so-called Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite parties with close ties to Iran, factions blocked each other. As a compromise candidate, Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer who also received US support, eventually prevailed.
The raid is likely to further strain Iraq’s already fragmented political landscape. Corruption allegations in the country are often tied to power struggles and rivalries over influence.
Source: de.euronews.com
