Weapons handover begins in Samarra, security spox says

BAGHDAD — Implementation of Iraq’s weapons handover and security integration plan has begun in Samarra, the head of the Security Media Cell said Thursday.

Saad Maan told the Iraqi News Agency that “the first step and operation to implement what was prepared by the higher committee formed to execute the weapons handover and security integration plan began in Samarra, and it is part of the government program.” He said the committee had completed the mechanisms, procedures and arrangements needed for the handover process and restructuring of armed formations, with follow-up continuing by the commander-in-chief.

Earlier Thursday, ceremonies marking the transfer of Saraya al-Salam’s security file to the Samarra Operations Command began in the presence of Deputy Joint Operations Commander Lt. Gen. Qais al-Muhammadawi and Tahseen al-Humaidawi, a senior aide to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The move represents the first publicly announced implementation step in the broader initiative to place weapons under state control.

The process follows Sadr’s May 27 announcement that Saraya al-Salam would separate from his movement and come under state authority, and the Coordination Framework’s June 1 endorsement of weapons restriction and PMF separation from political affiliations, authorizing al-Zaidi to take the measures needed to implement the policy. Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Imam Ali Battalions have since announced similar steps. National Security Adviser Qasim al-Ararji and Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan have also publicly backed the initiative.

Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have rejected calls to disarm, arguing their weapons remain tied to Iraq’s security needs and the continued presence of foreign forces.