Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi security forces arrested politicians, lawmakers and senior government officials early on Sunday in what security and legal sources described as the start of a broader anti-corruption campaign ordered by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. No official statement has been made about the arrests.
Raids in the Green Zone
Elite Counter Terrorism Service units raided the homes of politicians and senior officials inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone in the early hours of Sunday and made several arrests, according to security and legal sources who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media on sensitive issues.
Orders and warrants
The operation was launched on direct orders from Zaidi after Iraqi judicial authorities issued arrest warrants as part of a crackdown on what the sources described as suspected corruption networks.
Broader campaign
Zaidi, who took office in May, has pledged to tackle entrenched corruption, one of Iraq’s most persistent governance challenges despite repeated promises by successive governments to hold officials accountable.
The latest raids followed the recent arrest of several senior officials, including a deputy oil minister, on corruption-related charges. The three sources said those arrests led to the issuance of additional arrest warrants that were carried out on Sunday.
Testimony and search operation
A senior source quoted by state news agency INA said some of the latest arrests were based on testimony provided by Adnan al-Jumaili, deputy oil minister for refining affairs, after his detention on corruption charges. The source told INA that al-Jumaili’s statements implicated a wider network of officials in alleged corruption schemes.
Some suspects fled before security forces arrived, prompting authorities to close entrances to the Green Zone and launch a wider search operation, the three security and legal sources said. They added that the campaign is expected to continue over the coming days.
Strategic district
Most senior Iraqi government officials, lawmakers and political leaders maintain residences or offices inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, where parliament, foreign embassies and the prime minister’s office are situated.
