Armed chase reported after fight at agriculture office in Dhi Qar

BAGHDAD, Iraq — An argument at an agriculture department building in Dhi Qar province escalated into an armed chase on Tuesday, according to local security sources. The dispute began at the Agriculture Department office in the Dawaya district, northeast of Nasiriyah, between brothers of Dhi Qar provincial council member Murtaza Jawad al-Saidi and another party. It stemmed from a disagreement over the bidding process for an agricultural plot in the Muhayna area, the source said. After the argument, a vehicle carrying two armed individuals entered the town center. Police pursued the car, but a police vehicle crashed into a roadside curb on the new Dawaya ring road. The two armed occupants fled the scene before they could be detained. No casualties were reported. No further details were immediately available on the investigation.