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Iraq’s Sadrist Camp Refuses to Join New Government

28 September 2022, Iraq, Baghdad: A supporter of Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr holds his picture during a demonstration on the Jumhuriya (Republic) bridge leading to Baghdad's Green Zone, on conjunction with the parliament's first session in two months. (dpa)
28 September 2022, Iraq, Baghdad: A supporter of Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr holds his picture during a demonstration on the Jumhuriya (Republic) bridge leading to Baghdad's Green Zone, on conjunction with the parliament's first session in two months. (dpa)
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Iraq’s Sadrist Camp Refuses to Join New Government

28 September 2022, Iraq, Baghdad: A supporter of Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr holds his picture during a demonstration on the Jumhuriya (Republic) bridge leading to Baghdad's Green Zone, on conjunction with the parliament's first session in two months. (dpa)
28 September 2022, Iraq, Baghdad: A supporter of Iraq's influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr holds his picture during a demonstration on the Jumhuriya (Republic) bridge leading to Baghdad's Green Zone, on conjunction with the parliament's first session in two months. (dpa)

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement on Saturday announced its refusal to join a new government being formed by prime minister-designate Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.

The announcement came two days after lawmakers elected Abdul Latif Rashid as Iraq's new president, and he swiftly named Sudani as prime minister in a bid to end a year of political gridlock since October 2021 elections.

"We stress our firm and clear refusal for any of our affiliates to participate... in this government formation," Mohammed Saleh al-Iraqi, a close associate of Sadr, said in a statement posted on Twitter.

The 52-year-old Shiite former minister Sudani has the backing of Sadr's Iran-backed rivals, the Shiite Coordination Framework, which controls 138 out of 329 seats in the Iraqi legislature.

In June, Sadr had ordered the 73 lawmakers in his bloc to resign, leaving parliament in the hands of the Framework, which includes representatives of the former Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

In his statement Saturday, Iraqi charged that the upcoming government has a "clear subordination to militias" and would "not meet the (Iraqi) people's aspirations".

He said the Sadrist movement refused to take part in any government led by Sudani "or any other candidate from among the old faces or those affiliated with the corrupt".

"Anyone who joins their ministries does not represent us... rather, we disavow them," Iraqi said.

Snap elections were held last year following nationwide protests that erupted in October 2019 to decry endemic corruption, decaying infrastructure and the absence of services and jobs for youth.

Sadr, who has the ability to mobilize tens of thousands of his supporters with a single tweet, has repeatedly demanded early elections, while the Coordination Framework wants a new government in place before any polls are held.

Tensions between the two rival camps boiled over on August 29 when more than 30 Sadr supporters were killed in clashes with Iran-backed factions and the army in Baghdad's Green Zone, which houses government buildings and diplomatic missions.

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Syria Says Israeli Strikes Kill 18 People in a Large-Scale Attack on Sites

Syrians inspect the damage at the site of overnight Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Masyaf in Syria's central Hama province on September 9, 2024. (AFP)
Syrians inspect the damage at the site of overnight Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Masyaf in Syria's central Hama province on September 9, 2024. (AFP)
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Syria Says Israeli Strikes Kill 18 People in a Large-Scale Attack on Sites

Syrians inspect the damage at the site of overnight Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Masyaf in Syria's central Hama province on September 9, 2024. (AFP)
Syrians inspect the damage at the site of overnight Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Masyaf in Syria's central Hama province on September 9, 2024. (AFP)

The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 18 with dozens more wounded, Syria's health minister said Monday — the largest death toll in such an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

One of the sites targeted was a research center used in the development of weapons, a war monitor said. Syrian officials said civilian sites were targeted.

Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas — a Hezbollah ally — in Gaza.

However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night's strikes were unusual.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.

Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Hezbollah.

Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

Speaking to reporters, Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash described the strikes as a "brutal and barbaric aggression." He said the death toll had risen to 18 with nearly 40 wounded.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 25 were killed, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups.

One strike targeted a scientific research center in Masyaf, and others sites where "Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria," the observatory said. It said the research center was reportedly used for developing weapons, including short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.

Minister of Electricity Mohammad al-Zamel said the strikes had caused "truly significant" damage to water and electricity infrastructure.

"This brutal attack targeted civilian targets, and the martyrs were mostly civilians, as were the wounded," he said.

Muhammad Sumaya, a firefighter with the Hama Fire Brigade, was wounded when shrapnel from one of the strikes hit his foot.

When the strikes began, he said while being treated in the Masyaf hospital Monday, "we moved from one place to another to deal with the fires and work to extinguish them." While they were working, he said, "a missile landed right next to us."

Azzam al-Omar, a SANA photographer, said he was hit by shrapnel in the chest when a missile landed while he was photographing the aftermath of a strike.

Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous, which the observatory said were the result of air defense missiles falling.

On Monday afternoon, a charred car remained at the scene of one strike and smoke was still rising from some spots where fires had been put out.