October 11, 2026
Baghdad:
The Iraqi National Security Service announced, on Saturday, the release of two former government officials from the grip of their captors, and the arrest of eight involved in the operation, following a pre-emptive security operation that lasted for 48 hours in the capital, Baghdad, and was based on accurate intelligence information and extensive field follow-up reported by the Iraqi News Agency, “INA.”
The spokesman for the agency explained that the two victims are a retired judge and a former advisor to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, stressing that they do not currently hold any government positions. Initial investigations showed that the perpetrators used a motorcycle with forged registration plates to carry out the kidnapping, before the kidnapped persons were taken and transported between several locations to hide them.
Inspections at the detention site resulted in the seizure of weapons, ammunition, and forged official documents attributed to an armed group outside the law, while investigations demonstrated the presence of criminal records in the possession of the arrested defendants.
In a later development, the defendants’ confessions and extensive investigations led to the discovery of a secret weapons and ammunition storehouse set up inside a place of worship. The warehouse contained an arsenal that included heavy and medium weapons, launchers, explosive devices, hand grenades, and sniper weapons, in addition to huge quantities of explosive materials amounting to about 225 kilograms.
The National Security Service did not disclose the identities of the freed former officials, nor did it reveal the name of the armed group to which the accused were suspected of belonging, at a time when investigations are continuing to complete the file and refer the perpetrators to justice.
