Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi reinstated Ali JakhifaLafta al-Shammari as commander of Samarra Operations only hours after hisremoval, a source within Saraya al-Salam, the armed faction of the PatrioticShiite Movement (PSM) led by Muqtada al-Sadr, told Shafaq News on Wednesday.
Al-Shammari was replaced by Youssef Mizan Naseef Ragheef ofAsaib Ahl al-Haq. The order originated from Faleh al-Fayyadh, head of thePopular Mobilization Forces —a predominantly Shiite umbrella formationintegrated into Iraq’s state security structure in 2016— under which bothfactions operated.
The move triggered tensions in Samarra, with Saraya al-Salamdeploying members across several streets and key points in the city. The groupmaintained that its presence would continue until security responsibilitytransfers fully to Iraq’s official security forces. Muqtada al-Sadr laterinstructed the faction to comply with the PMF decision.
Longstanding friction between Saraya al-Salam and Asaib Ahlal-Haq persisted. The latter’s leader, Qais al-Khazali, broke away fromal-Sadr’s movement and the Mahdi Army before establishing the group. Competition between both sides has periodically escalated into politicaldisputes and armed confrontations across several southern provinces, includingBasra and Maysan.
Last month, al-Sadr and al-Khazali outlined a path for thedisengagement of their armed wings, directing members toward integration intoofficial state institutions as part of broader efforts to consolidate weaponsunder exclusive state authority, a central pillar of al-Zaidi’s governmentprogram.
: Iraq to place armed factions' weapons under state control: What we know so far
