Green Zone remains sealed after Iraq corruption arrests

BAGHDAD — Baghdad’s Green Zone remained sealed and all but deserted on Monday, more than a day after a pre-dawn security operation swept up dozens of lawmakers and officials in a widening anti-corruption campaign, local sources told 964media.

Entrances to the heavily fortified district, home to about 30,000 people, have been shut since the operation began, the sources said, with no one allowed in except official badge-holders and only after inspection. Vehicles leaving were being searched and their occupants questioned. Footage gathered by 964media showed its streets, normally busy with government traffic, largely empty.

The lockdown follows an operation that began before 3 a.m. Sunday, when the gates were closed and columns of armored vehicles rolled in. Tanks moved through the streets with their guns turned to the rear, and residents reported several minutes of light and medium weapons fire before 5 a.m. At least 10 politicians, lawmakers and advisers were detained in the first raids, sources said, and members of some security details resisted with gunfire.

Ambulances were seen entering compounds where senior officials live, though no casualties were confirmed.

The Green Zone is a district in central Baghdad that houses Iraq’s main government buildings, parliament, the prime minister’s office and a number of foreign embassies, including the U.S. mission, along with residences for senior officials. Established as a fortified enclave after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, it has long functioned as the seat of Iraqi power. Restrictions on civilian access have gradually been loosened in the intervening years.

Iraq’s state news agency later quoted a senior source as saying the campaign had led to 47 arrests, and published 15 names it said were the first group detained on the basis of confessions by detained Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili. 964media could not independently verify the list or the figure. The Federal Integrity Commission, a state body, said it had begun executing judicial arrest warrants against people accused of misusing public funds, but named no one and gave no number.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called the campaign only its “first phase” on Sunday and pledged to keep working “to combat corruption and recover public funds.”

“The situation can no longer be ignored,” Zaidi said, adding that the government wanted to reassure citizens that “public funds are protected by capable guardians and will be managed responsibly.”

State media said the arrests targeted suspects identified during Jumaili’s interrogation, including lawmakers whose immunity had been lifted and senior officials named in his testimony. Jumaili, who served as deputy oil minister for extraction affairs, was detained earlier this month over alleged financial irregularities in the oil sector. Authorities have disclosed little about the investigation beyond confirming he is in custody.