Shafaq News– Dhi QarIraqi intelligence forces detained a senior member ofthe banned Al-Qurban group in the Souq al-Shuyukh district south of Nasiriyah, thecapital of southeastern Iraq’s Dhi Qar province, a security source confirmed.The source told Shafaq News on Thursday that thesuspect, in his twenties, was arrested under Article 372 of Iraq’s Penal CodeNo. 111 of 1969, as amended. The detainee, the source added, used social mediaplatforms, including Facebook, to promote the group’s ideology and activities.Also known as “Ali-Allahiya,” Al-Qurban is a bannedsect that preaches the deification of the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb,and encourages self-sacrifice as an act of devotion.Iraqi authorities have arrested dozens of itsfollowers in Wasit, Basra, Muthanna, Dhi Qar, and Al-Diwaniyah for organizingsuicide-related rituals. The group is outlawed under Iraqi law, whichcriminalizes membership in extremist movements that incite violence orself-harm.