Shafaq News..Kataib Hezbollah reveals strike warning, invites Al-Khanjar to Jurf Al-Sakhar

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Popular Mobilization Forces
(PMF) chairman Falih Al-Fayyadh warned Kataib Hezbollah ahead of the July 29 Saudi-US strikes on PMF positions in Iraq, a security official with the group revealed
on Saturday.

In a statement, Abu Mujahid
Al-Assaf said Al-Fayyadh had alerted the group’s leadership and authorized him
to make the information public. “Precautionary measures were taken at the
time,” he noted, adding that the intelligence was incomplete and indicated that
Kataib Hezbollah or other factions of the Islamic Resistance, an umbrella
network of Iran-backed Shiite armed groups, would be targeted.

Al-Assaf also called for an
end to disputes and criticism directed at faction leaders following the
strikes.

Saudi Arabia announced on July
27 that it had intercepted drones launched from Iraq toward oil facilities. Two
days later, US and Saudi fighter jets hit sites that CENTCOM identified as
weapons depots and logistical facilities belonging to Iran-aligned factions.
The PMF, astate-linked paramilitary umbrella, reported strikes on its
positions across six provinces, leaving at least 20 members dead and 32
wounded.

Read more: Iraq under pressure as neighbors threaten to strike factions

Jurf Al-Sakhar

On Jurf Al-Sakhar, which he
referred to as Madinat Al-Nasr, Al-Assaf renewed an invitation for Sovereignty
Alliance (Al-Siyada) leader Khamis Al-Khanjar to visit, offering to arrange his
travel and protection.

He dismissed concerns over
conditions there and said that Kataib Hezbollah was coordinating with Babil
Governor Ali Turki Al-Jamali.

Located about 60 kilometers
southwest of Baghdad, Jurf Al-Sakhar remains one of Iraq’s most sensitive
post-ISIS areas. More than 100,000 residents have remained displaced since the
district was retaken from ISIS in 2014, while PMF factions retain control over
parts of the territory. Sunni leaders, including Al-Khanjar, have repeatedly
pressed for their return.

A federal committee is
examining disputed land contracts and local conditions this month as Baghdad
revisits the longstanding displacement issue.

Read more: Jurf al-Sakhr and Iraq’s push to disarm factions

Al-Dora shooting

Al-Assaf also addressed the
Aug. 28 shooting in Baghdad’s Al-Dora district that killed two security
personnel and wounded four others. He accused those involved of links to a
faction responsible for past sectarian killings, bombings, road blockades, and displacement
south of the capital, while criticizing media coverage of the incident.

The gunfire broke out as
security forces and Baghdad Municipality teams were removing unauthorized
housing structures in southern Baghdad, killing Brig. Gen. Hisham Mohammed
Talaa, director of the municipality’s Karkh police department, and security
member Khalid Abbas Lafta. Four security personnel and municipal employees were
injured, and authorities later arrested the main suspect.

Read more: Al-Dora clash highlights Iraq’s 3.5 million informal settlement crisis