Iraqi Parliament Speaker orders guards detained for civilian assault
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani ordered disciplinary action against members of his security team after a viral video showed guards assaulting a family in Baghdad.
According to a statement from the speaker’s media office, the incident occurred when a Chevrolet Tahoe with tinted windows mistakenly entered the speaker’s convoy and ignored security signals, prompting an aggressive response from the guards.
Al-Mashhadani condemned the behavior as a breach of his directives, which require restraint and respect for civilians, and instructed authorities to detain those involved pending legal proceedings.
The footage, circulated online, captures a tense altercation between the guards and a civilian accompanied by family members.
The confrontation comes amid escalating political tensions and heightened security ahead of Iraq’s November 11 parliamentary elections, with similar reports of misconduct by official security details emerging in recent weeks.
Al-Mashhadani is contesting the elections under the Unified Sunni Leadership Coalition (Ittihad Al-Qiyada Al-Sunniya Al-Muwahhada), a newly formed alliance comprising Khamis al-Khanjar’s Sovereignty Alliance (Al-Siyada), Muthanna al-Samarrai’s Al-Azm (Determination) Party, Ahmad al-Jubouri’s National Masses Party (Al-Jamaheer Al-Wataniya) and Ziad al-Janabi’s Initiative (Al-Mubadara) bloc.
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