20 locally made drones seized in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces seized more than 20 locally made drones in Baghdad’s Rusafa area and arrested four people accused of possessing and trading them outside approved regulations, the second drone operation in the capital in five days.

The seizures came in two separate operations carried out with judicial approval, according to a statement. Under questioning the four admitted holding the drones in order to sell them, it said, and legal measures have been taken against them. The statement did not say whether they were linked to any armed faction, who they were selling to, or whether the drones were intended for civilian or military purposes.

On Friday night, intelligence and counterterrorism forces dismantled a network planning attacks with explosive-laden drones, government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said, the same night troops deployed across Baghdad. The group had planned “to direct strikes against certain targets that I cannot disclose,” he said, without identifying the network or saying how many were arrested.