Two Iraqi police wounded following clashes with a Iran-backed Shia militia

Two Iraqi police wounded following clashes with a Iran-backed Shia militia
Several police officers were slightly injured following clashes with the attackers who were later arrested, Iraq's Ministry of Interior said. 
2 min read
17 May, 2023
Twitter users claimed that the attackers were affiliated with Kataeb Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, an Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary group in Iraq. [Getty]

Major clashes took place between Iraq's federal police and an Iran-backed militia in the Dora area south of the capital city of Baghdad early on Monday, with several police forces wounded, local Iraqi media channels and Iraq's interior ministry said.

Iraqi interior ministry's security media department in a statement on Tuesday announced that security forces accompanying Baghdad municipality teams were attacked while they were removing illegal buildings on public properties in the Dora area, without identifying the intent of the attackers.

Two police officers were slightly injured following clashes with the attackers who were later arrested, the ministry clarified. 

Video clips posted online on Twitter by Iraqi social media users show an officer from Iraq's federal police forces bleeding amid heavy gunfire.  Twitter users claimed that the attackers were affiliated with Kataeb Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, an Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary group in Iraq.

Iraqi political observer, Haider Barzinji, who is seen as close to the Iran-backed militias, remarked to Iraq's UTV channel that the disputed land in the Dora area was purchased by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in order to be distributed among families of PMF martyrs. He also said that the clashes happened due to misunderstandings between the Iraqi federal police and a PMF located in the area. 

Public and private land confiscations by militias are common in Iraq, especially in areas around the capital city mostly known as the Baghdad belt. The lands are mostly palm tree farms cultivated by Arab Sunnis.

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