عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Iraqi National Intelligence Service Threatens to Sue ‘Asaib Ahl al-Haq’ Leader

Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali
Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali
TT
20
TT

Iraqi National Intelligence Service Threatens to Sue ‘Asaib Ahl al-Haq’ Leader

Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali
Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali

Iraqi intelligence, led by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, on Monday slammed “harmful” statements made by a militia leader who accused the service of becoming run by a foreign security team.

Qais al-Khazali, Secretary-General of the Iranian-backed militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq, claimed in a tweet on Sunday that he had reliable information that Iraq had brought in an Emirati security team to manage the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, after the transfer of 300 members of the intelligence service, including officers, to the border authority.

Without naming Khazali, the intelligence service hit back at what they labeled as misinformation.

“The Iraqi National Intelligence Service regrets that it has to respond and clarify such unjust accusations from some political and media groups based on completely false information,” read a statement from the service released on Monday.

The service also affirmed it will be reserving its legal right to sue any party seeking to undermine the integrity of its affiliates.

Headed by Kadhimi, the service stated that the unfair statements are “harmful for the reputation of the agency and the patriotism of its officers and employees.”

The statement added that the administrative procedure of transferring the members was in response to the request of the Border Ports Committee, which needs the support of more security staff.

“Human resources at the Iraqi National Intelligence Service play a major role in earning national respect for the agency’s civility, discipline, professionalism, and patriotism,” national security expert Hussein Allawi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He added that the service undertakes high-performance tasks such as combating espionage, confronting subversive groups that threaten national security, dismantling terrorist groups, and fighting organized crime.

“One of the primary tasks of the service is to face foreign threats,” noted Allawi.

More so, Allawi explained that the service is responsible for protecting Iraqi diplomatic cables and ensure the safety and smooth flow of civil and military missions carried abroad.

“Relocating members of the intelligence service to the border authority fulfills the national mission for protecting and developing border crossings, which are a vital part of Iraq’s security,” he said.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Israeli Military Changes Initial Account of Gaza Aid Worker Killings

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Israeli Military Changes Initial Account of Gaza Aid Worker Killings

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military has provided new details that changed its initial account of the killing of 15 emergency workers near the southern Gaza city of Rafah last month but said investigators were still examining the evidence.

The 15 paramedics and emergency responders were shot dead on March 23 and buried in a shallow grave where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Another man is still missing.

The military initially said soldiers had opened fire on vehicles that approached their position "suspiciously" in the dark without lights or markings. It said they killed nine fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were travelling in Palestinian Red Crescent vehicles.

But video recovered from the mobile phone of one of the dead men and published by the Palestinian Red Crescent showed emergency workers in their uniforms and clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks, with their lights on, being fired on by soldiers.

The only known survivor of the incident, Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic Munther Abed, also said he had seen soldiers opening fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.

An Israeli military official said late on Saturday the investigators were examining the video and conclusions were expected to be presented to army commanders on Sunday.

Israeli media briefed by the military reported that troops had identified at least six of the 15 dead as members of the groups. However, the official declined to provide any evidence or detail of how the identifications were made, saying he did not want to share classified information.

"According to our information, there were terrorists there but this investigation is not over," he told reporters at the briefing late on Saturday.

The UN and the Palestinian Red Cross have demanded an independent inquiry into the killing of the paramedics.

Red Crescent officials have said 17 paramedics and emergency workers from the Red Crescent, the Civil Emergency service and the UN had been dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli air strikes.

Apart from Abed, who was detained for several hours before being released, another worker is still missing.

OPENED FIRE

The military official said initial findings from the investigation showed troops had opened fire on a vehicle at around 4 a.m., killing two members of the Hamas internal security forces, and taking another prisoner, who the official said had admitted under interrogation to being in Hamas.

As time passed, several vehicles passed along the road until, at around 6 a.m., he said troops received word from aerial surveillance that a suspicious group of vehicles was approaching.

"They feel this is another incident like what happened at 4 a.m. and they opened fire," the official said.

He said aerial surveillance footage showed the troops were at some distance when they opened fire, and he denied reports that the troops handcuffed at least some of the paramedics and shot them at close range.

"It's not from close. They opened fire from afar," he said. "There's no mistreatment of the people there."

He said the soldiers had approached the group they had shot, identifying at least some of them as fighters. However, he did not explain what evidence had prompted the assessment.

"And in their eyes, they had an encounter with terrorists, that is a successful encounter with terrorists."

He said the troops had informed the UN of the incident on the same day and initially covered the bodies with camouflage netting until they could be recovered. UN officials did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"There was no incident where the Israeli army tried to cover up. On the contrary, they called the UN immediately."

Later, when the UN did not immediately come to take the bodies, the soldiers covered them with sand to stop animals from getting at them, the official said.

He said the vehicles were pushed out of the way by a heavy engineering vehicle to clear the road but he could not explain why the vehicles were crushed by the engineering vehicle and then buried.