Across four governorates

Iraq’s National Security Agency arrests 35 members of extremist Shia group Al-Alaahiyah

BAGHDAD — The Iraq National Security Agency announced Monday the arrest of 35 individuals linked to the extremist Shia group Al-Alaahiyah, also known as Qurban, across the provinces of Wasit, Muthanna, Basra, and Dhi Qar.

The group, an extremist Shia faction, promotes radical practices, including advocating for suicide during religious rituals and exalting Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib to a divine status—beliefs not aligned with mainstream Shia doctrine. These extreme views have led to several suicide incidents in Iraq’s southern provinces, prompting authorities to take action against the group’s members.

In a statement, the National Security Agency emphasized its ongoing efforts to monitor and address “deviant behavioral movements” that pose a risk to society, with particular focus on the Al-Alaahiyah movement.

“Based on confirmed intelligence,” the agency said, “our teams identified new members of this movement in four provinces.” Following legal approvals, National Security forces arrested 35 individuals in Wasit, Muthanna, Basra, and Dhi Qar. The detainees have been referred to the appropriate authorities for further action.

The emergence of the Al-Alaahiyah group has raised concerns among Iraqi religious leaders and security forces. While mainstream Shia doctrine reveres Imam Ali as the first Imam, it does not attribute divinity to him, as the extremist group does.

Earlier, in July, the National Security Agency announced it had infiltrated the movement, which encourages followers to conduct lotteries where the chosen individual commits suicide by hanging.

Monday’s arrests are part of a broader crackdown on the group, with dozens of members detained in recent months. On Aug. 8, authorities arrested two suspected members in Muthanna and four others in Al-Numaniyah during an Ashura procession. They were reportedly planning to sacrifice a member as an offering to God.

In response to the group’s rise, a group of young artists from the Al-Numaniyah district in Wasit began working on a short film titled “Sawalif Abu Sarhan ma’ Harakat Al-Qurban” (Abu Sarhan’s Conversations with the Qurban Movement). The film seeks to raise awareness about the religious exploitation of youth and address the increasing suicide cases linked to the Al-Alaahiyah group.