Iraq’s Defense Ministry bars troops from revealing military sites online

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Defense Ministry on Sunday barred armed forces personnel from photographing, tagging or otherwise identifying military sites on social media and other digital platforms, warning that such posts could expose installations and put troops at risk.

The ban came in a security alert from the ministry’s Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Directorate to all members of the armed forces. It bars them from posting images, sharing locations or giving any detail that could point to a military position.

Publishing photos or locations of military sites exposes them, endangers their security and the safety of personnel, and could let unauthorized parties exploit the information, the directorate said.

It urged personnel to comply fully with existing security rules and to avoid posting, photographing or giving any clue to military positions. “The secrecy of the location is a first line of defense,” the directorate said, calling it key to protecting the military and its personnel.

The alert follows an Oct. 17 order from Defense Minister Nayef al-Shammari, approved by parliament on Oct. 15, that bars ministry personnel from appearing in the media or on social media. The order made the ministry’s spokesperson the only one authorized to make official statements and warned that violators would face legal action.

Other security bodies imposed similar limits earlier in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. In March, the Interior Ministry banned sharing photos and videos of targeted sites on social media and told media outlets not to publish the exact locations or coordinates of incidents. It said the measures were meant to protect sensitive sites and threatened legal action against violators.

Iraqi military sites were hit repeatedly during the regional war. In March, a rocket strike hit an Iraqi Air Force transport plane at Shaheed Alaa Air Base, the military section of Baghdad International Airport.