Iraqi police faced popular mobilization forces in Baghdad after they assaulted a building of the Ministry of Agriculture.
At least one police officer was killed and 14 fighters arrested after a shooting broke out in the capital of Iraq with members of the popular mobilization forces (PMF), an paramilitary umbrella sanctioned by the state that includes loyal groups to Iran.
Sunday's violence broke out in the Karkh district in Baghdad when PMF fighters broke into a building of the Ministry of Agriculture during the appointment of a new director, the Interior Ministry said.
The gunmen interrupted an official meeting, stirring panic between staff and an emergency police response equipment. The police that respond to the scene “was criticized”, also resulted in injuries among security personnel.
The Ministry said that “it would not tolerate anywhere that try to impose its will by force and threaten state institutions.”
Group 'You don't want to climb'
The PMF, known locally as hashd al-Shaabi, is mainly composed of Shiite paramilitaries formed to fight Isil (ISIS), but since then it has been formally integrated into the armed forces of Iraq. Several of their factions maintain close ties with Tehran.
Safety sources and witnesses within the building said the fighters aimed to block the replacement of the former director. Hospital and Police officials confirmed that an officer was killed and another nine were injured in the clash.
A statement from the IRAQ Joint Operations Command, which informs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, said that arrested men were sent to the Judiciary. Those involved belonged to the PMF 45 and 46 brigades, units widely linked to Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful militias aligned by Iran de Iraq.
An unidentified member of Kataib Hezbollah told the AFP news agency that a group's fighter was killed and six other injured. The group “does not want to climb” and will allow the Judiciary to take its course, said the member of the group.
In response to the climb, Al-Sudani ordered that an investigation committee investigate the events.
The continuous influence of PMF in Iraqi policy and its armed confrontations with state institutions have expressed concerns about the fragility of the Iraq security apparatus and blurred lines between the formal authority and the powerful militia.
Battle for influence
Throughout the years elapsed since Iraq invasion of 2003 in the United States, a battle has developed in the country between Iran and the United States due to the influence of the government. Among those who work in alignment with Iran are several members of the PMF, which emerged in 2014 to fight Isil.
In 2017, the legitimacy of the PMF was coded in law against the wishes of the Iraqi ministries of the interior and the defense, and led to the supervision of the National Security Advisor of Iraq.
