PMF says detained members handed to its own security directorate after ‘misunderstanding’

BAGHDAD — Several Popular Mobilization Forces members were detained and have been transferred to the force’s General Directorate of Security to pursue their case with the judiciary, the PMF said, after reports that a member of its chief of staff had been arrested.

“The misunderstanding regarding the arrest of our brothers in the PMF has been resolved, and the detainees have been handed over to the heroes of the PMF Security Directorate to follow up on their case with our fair judiciary,” media director Muhannad al-Aqabi said.

Social media accounts had reported that a chief of staff member identified as Abu Jaafar was detained by the Counter-Terrorism Service. The CTS denied it earlier Monday, saying it “denies the news circulated on some social media sites about the arrest of a member of the Popular Mobilization Forces chief of staff” and describing itself as working under judicial orders and with the approval of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief.

Neither statement says who made the arrests, what the detainees are accused of, or how many were held. It is the second time in eight days that PMF personnel detained by another body have ended up in the force’s own custody. The CTS held Abbas al-Yaqoubi, intelligence director for Baghdad Belt Operations, in Dhi Qar on Aug. 17, transferred him to the PMF security directorate, and the judiciary dismissed all accusations two days later.