Sadrist movement leader Muqtada Al-Sadr delivers a speech
Sadr urges restraint after Saraya al-Salam commander killed in Maysan unrest
BAGHDAD — Shiite National Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr urged restraint Saturday after the killing of a Saraya al-Salam commander in Amarah sparked unrest that included the burning of the provincial council head’s office, while calling on authorities to pursue the case through legal channels.
In a handwritten message dated Jan. 3, 2026, al-Sadr accused what he described as “the insolent militias” of shedding Iraqi blood “without any deterrent or sanctity,” referring to the killing of Hussein al-Alaq, known as “al-Daalej.” He called on authorities to allow “the law to take its true course in exposing the perpetrators and stopping the bloodshed.”
Al-Sadr warned supporters against retaliation and escalation, saying they should “not to be dragged behind sedition and schemes sought by corrupt figures to polish their image before their followers.” He said that “any escalation or uncontrolled, nonlegal and nontribal movement is rejected,” adding that those responsible “will be exposed for their corruption and sedition.”
In the message, al-Sadr wrote that “patience is required,” adding that “they scheme, and God schemes, and God is the best of schemers,” and concluded, “God is with the patient.”
The comments followed heightened security tensions in Amarah late Friday after unidentified gunmen killed al-Alaq in the al-Mualimeen neighborhood before fleeing the scene, according to local security sources. The killing triggered armed gatherings, celebratory gunfire during the funeral and the burning of parts of the office of Maysan Provincial Council head Mustafa Daeer al-Muhammadawi, who is affiliated with Asaib Ahl al-Haq. Firefighting teams later extinguished the blaze.
Security forces deployed across the governorate, setting up checkpoints, blocking several main roads and imposing a curfew in parts of Amarah to contain the situation. Local officials said the measures were aimed at restoring calm and preventing further escalation.
Saraya al-Salam is the armed wing of the Shiite National Movement led by al-Sadr. Asaib Ahl al-Haq is a powerful armed faction aligned with the Shiite Coordination Framework and is linked politically to the Sadiqoun bloc. Both groups hold influence in parts of Maysan and other areas of Iraq.
Al-Alaq had previously been accused of involvement in the 2019 killing of Asaib Ahl al-Haq figures Wissam and Issam al-Aliawi, a case that drew wide attention at the time and later resulted in a death sentence against one of those convicted, according to the Maysan Criminal Court.