Iraq closes 71 fake PMF offices, bans unauthorised drone flights

Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Monday, 10 August, that it had closed at least 71 fake offices claiming to belong to the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), while stressing that any drone flying without authorisation would be treated as a "terrorist threat".

Security measures in Iraq have entered a more stringent phase, following top-level directives to intensify searches at security checkpoints inside cities and between provinces.

The move indicates an Iraqi security strategy aimed at tightening control over the movements of armed factions.

Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman, Maj Gen Miqdad Miri, said during a press conference for the National Permanent Committee for Regulating and Restricting Weapons to State Control that "the committee currently has an information database containing 6 million weapons across the country".

"There was initially a lack of trust, and registration for free weapons registration was low, but the situation has now changed, and participation has become high," he added.

Miri stressed that "reports about imposing a curfew across the country, coinciding with the end of the deadline for restricting weapons to state control at the end of next September, are incorrect (..). There was a precautionary technical measure, and currently there are no instructions concerning this matter".

"The deadline for registering weapons will end on Dec. 31, 2026, after which an unregistered weapons holder will be treated as being outside the law," Miri said.

"The ministry established 845 offices for weapons registration in all provinces, granted weapons and possession licences to more than 160,000 people, and seized and confiscated 143,000 weapons," he added. "It also uncovered the theft of 2,668 weapons, in addition to registering more than half a million weapons belonging to citizens."

He noted that at least "71 fake PMF offices were closed, and security forces will treat any drone flying without authorisation as terrorism, as well as those who launch them, regardless of their affiliations".

In response, the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) said in statements to the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the fake offices announced by the Interior Ministry "have no connection whatsoever to them".

It stressed that "measures to close and monitor these offices were carried out as part of an operation conducted by the authority's General Directorate of Security and Discipline, within the framework of the work of the Permanent Committee for Restricting Weapons, formed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces".

Strategic affairs expert Brig Gen Adnan al-Tamimi told TNA that "the decision to close offices falsely claiming affiliation or connection to the Popular Mobilisation Forces represents an important step towards controlling weapons and ending the practice of some armed factions exploiting the name of official institutions".

"The presence of such offices, particularly those spread across the capital Baghdad and several central and southern provinces, poses a challenge to the authority of the state and the rule of law," he added.

Al-Tamimi further said that "closing illegal or fake offices is based on precise legal and security procedures, after verifying the identity of entities using names and addresses that suggest an affiliation with state institutions".

He continued, "The Popular Mobilisation Forces are an official institution. Therefore, any entity without clear legal authorisation cannot use its status, symbols or offices to provide official cover for armed activities."

He added that "these measures will help restrict armed activity to legally authorised institutions, prevent multiple centres of security decision-making, and curb the exploitation of official status in carrying out activities that could endanger Iraq's security or its relations with neighbouring countries".

Al-Tamimi stressed that "security forces must treat any drone flying over areas of the country without official authorisation or clear identification as a potential security threat, regardless of the entity behind it or its affiliation".

He argued that "the danger posed by drones lies in how easily they can be used to carry out attacks, reconnaissance operations or transport materials".

"Dealing with them should be in accordance with the rules of engagement and applicable security laws and instructions, and legal accountability should extend to those who launch them and those behind their operation when their responsibility is established, without exceptions based on affiliation or political or factional status," he added.

The strategic affairs expert concluded: "Applying these rules equally to everyone sends a clear message that the decision to use force and weapons in Iraq must rest exclusively with the state and its authorised security and military institutions and that any violation of this principle should be met with deterrent legal and security measures".

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.