Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council has instructed the country’s courts to apply the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Law to anyone who manufactures, uses, or possesses drones for unlawful purposes, while a security official said the directive is aimed specifically at curbing the activities of armed factions.
In a brief statement on Wednesday, the Council said it had directed the competent courts to enforce Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005 against “anyone who manufactures, uses, or possesses drones employed for purposes contrary to the law.”
The law is Iraq’s principal legal framework for prosecuting terrorist crimes that threaten national unity and public safety, carrying penalties of up to the death sentence for perpetrators, instigators, planners, and financiers.
The directive comes amid months of government efforts to bring all weapons under state control and dismantle armed groups operating outside official security institutions.
An Interior Ministry security official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the judicial directive is “exclusively linked to armed factions” and is intended to increase pressure on them. He said the measure places drone-related offenses under terrorism statutes even though Iraqi law permits the use of officially licensed drones, indicating that it is directed at attacks carried out - or potentially to be carried out - by armed factions.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official described drones as one of Iraq’s most serious security challenges because they are easy to transport and operate, while the country lacks effective counter-drone capabilities, a weakness exposed during recent attacks.
Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran on February 28, armed factions have carried out hundreds of attacks, many involving drones, against civilian and military targets.
Kurdish sources say cities in the Kurdistan Region alone have come under more than 800 attacks by Iran-aligned factions, ostensibly because of the presence of US forces and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.
The factions have also launched dozens of drone attacks against vital assets in several Gulf states and Jordan, prompting those countries to issue a joint statement on March 25 condemning the attacks and urging Baghdad to take immediate action to halt operations by Iran-backed armed groups.
Iraq has long permitted drones for civilian, commercial, and official security purposes, provided operators obtain prior approval from the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority and the relevant security agencies.
In early February, the authority introduced new regulations governing licensing, operating requirements, legal obligations, and approved uses, including media production, filmmaking, advertising, tourism, protection of oil and energy pipelines and public utilities, agriculture, environmental monitoring, border security, and official Interior Ministry thermal-drone operations against smugglers.
Drone manufacturing is also “common in Iraq,” according to Ahmed al-Janabi, a software and telecommunications engineer, though primarily for civilian and service-related uses. He said drone components are widely available on Iraqi markets and enter the country through multiple routes, including smuggling networks from Iran via Sulaymaniyah.
Specialized import offices also supply drones, often disguising component shipments. While authorities routinely confiscate unauthorized drones and impose relatively light prison sentences on violators, al-Janabi said the key change is that such offenses are now prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism Law.
