PMF detains five Baathists in Iraq’s Kirkuk
Shafaq News- Kirkuk
On Sunday, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) arrested five senior figures linked to Saddam Hussein’s banned Baath Party in Kirkuk, northeastern Iraq, under Article 8 of the Baath Party Prohibition Law.
In a statement, the PMF noted that the suspects were holding an organizational meeting to coordinate activities aimed at ‘’undermining national security,’’ and they were transferred to the relevant authorities for legal proceedings.
Formed in 2014, the PMF operates as part of Iraq’s official security forces and has expanded its counterintelligence role to monitor what it describes as “remnants of the former regime” and other groups seen as threats to national stability.
The arrest comes after recent operations in Mosul, Baghdad and Dhi Qar, where several senior Baathists were detained in what officials described as the largest operation of its kind in years.
The Baath Party, banned since 2003, remains prohibited under Iraq’s constitution and the 2016 law outlawing its activities. Meanwhile, the 2008 Accountability and Justice Act continues to allow prosecution of former regime members involved in crimes or attempts to reorganize the party.
Read more: Iraq’s Elections under the Shadow of De-Baathification
