PMF says it arrested 45 across 12 governorates, half over alleged Baath Party links

BAGHDAD — The Popular Mobilization Forces said their intelligence units arrested 45 people in operations across 12 governorates, more than half of them accused of links to the banned Baath Party, under warrants issued by the courts.

Twenty-three were accused of Baath Party links, six of leaking information related to state security, five of organised crime, four of terrorism and seven of links to what the PMF called “deviant movements,” without naming them, the PMF said. The operations were supervised by the head of the PMF Commission and its chief of staff, and it urged residents to report suspicious activity and wanted people. It did not say over what period the arrests were made or where.

The Baath Party ruled Iraq from 1968 until the 2003 invasion and is banned by law. Its rule was marked by mass repression, including the genocide against the Kurds.

The PMF was formed in 2014 after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for volunteers to fight the Islamic State group, and parliament recognised it in 2016 as part of the security forces under the commander-in-chief. It grew into an umbrella of dozens of brigades, some closely tied to Iran and the Revolutionary Guard, and its place in the state remains contested. The government says its weapons policy covers armed groups outside state institutions rather than the PMF itself.