Shafaq News- Saladin
Saraya al-Salam, the armed factionof the Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM) led by Muqtada al-Sadr, said on Tuesdayit would remain in Samarra until security responsibility is fully transferredto Iraq's official security forces, hours after tensions erupted in the cityover the appointment of a new security commander.
During a video press conference, arepresentative of the group announced Saraya al-Salam's complete disengagementfrom the PSM and integration into Iraqi state institutions, calling the step acommitment to state stability, the rule of law, and Iraq's unity. He alsoexpressed the group's commitment to protecting the city and serving itsresidents and visitors.
Samarra is home to the Al-AskariShrine, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites. Its golden dome was destroyed byterrorists in a bombing in February 2006, while the shrine's two minarets weretargeted in a second attack less than 16 months later, triggering a wave ofsectarian violence that killed thousands of Iraqis. After ISIS seized largeareas of the country in 2014, Saraya al-Salam deployed in and around Samarra tohelp protect the shrine and the city.
While rejecting any securitydirectives aimed at changing the current reality in Samarra, the group’srepresentative insisted that responsibility for the city should not remainsubject to political or partisan considerations and called on the Iraqi governmentto form a committee headed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, PrimeMinister Ali al-Zaidi, to oversee the transition of the security file andensure stability in the city.
Security sources told Shafaq News onMonday that members of Saraya al-Salam opposed the appointment of a newcommander for the Samarra Operations Command, citing his affiliation with AsaibAhl al-Haq and the dismissed commander's perceived proximity to the group.
The dispute comes against thebackdrop of longstanding tensions between Saraya al-Salam and Asaib Ahl al-Haq. The latter's leader, Qais al-Khazali, split from al-Sadr's movement and theMahdi Army before founding the group. Rivalry between the two factions hasperiodically led to political disputes and armed confrontations in severalsouthern provinces, including Basra and Maysan.
Last month, al-Sadr and Al-Khazaliannounced the disengagement of their armed wings and directed their members tointegrate into official institutions as part of broader efforts to consolidateweapons under exclusive state authority, a central pillar of al-Zaidi'sgovernment program.
: Iraq to place armed factions' weapons under state control: What we know so far