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Asaib Ahl al-Haq Takes to Baghdad Streets in Show of Force

An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
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Asaib Ahl al-Haq Takes to Baghdad Streets in Show of Force

An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo

Gunmen believed to be belonging to Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, headed by Qais al-Khazali, took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday to protest the arrest of suspects in rocket attacks.

As the gunmen resorted to the streets of the Iraqi capital in a show of force, it was reported that the authorities released the suspects after the mediation of high-ranking figures.

Reports said that the arrests were linked to a rocket attack near Baghdad airport two months ago, which left seven members of the same family dead.

Two units of special forces were deployed near vital areas in Baghdad on Friday after cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for the announcement of a state of emergency and the deployment of the army instead of armed factions.

The head of the parliamentary security and defense committee, MP Mohammed Rida Haidar, said he backed Sadr’s call because the capital needs the army to control areas used by certain groups to target embassies in the Green Zone.

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Türkiye Has No ‘Secret Agenda’ in Syria, Minister Says

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Has No ‘Secret Agenda’ in Syria, Minister Says

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan addresses the audience during a press briefing meeting to review the past year and to share insights regarding regional and global developments in Istanbul, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye “does not have any secret agenda” in Syria and wants to construct a “new culture of cooperation,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday.

One of Türkiye’s priorities in the upcoming year is to clear the region of terrorism, Fidan said, referring to Kurdish militants based in northeast Syria. “The extensions of the separatist group in Syria are now facing destruction and the old order is no longer going to continue,” he told a news conference in Istanbul.

Fidan also criticized the United States’ support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as the US seeks to prevent a revival of the ISIS group.

“This kills the spirit of alliance and solidarity,” Fidan said. He said Türkiye is “not going to shy away from taking the necessary steps” in terms of military action.

Türkiye views the SDF as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terror organization by Türkiye and other states.

Referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments that US troops should stay in Syria, Fidan dismissed the views of the outgoing US administration. “This is the problem of the new government and the old government does not have a say in this,” he said.

The SDF is currently involved in fighting the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

Fidan also backed suggestions for Syrian Kurds to join a new national military but said all non-Syrians fighting for the SDF — a reference to those with ties to the PKK — should leave the country.