Report says state and armed groups share power in Basra

BASRA, Iraq — Iraq’s southern city of Basra has a power structure shared between the state and armed groups, according to a report cited by The National. The report said Basra is Iraq’s only outlet to the Gulf and holds about 70 percent of the country’s oil reserves. It said the city’s border area has been used as a launch point for drone and missile attacks during a period of strikes on Kuwait and exchanges of air and missile fire. Iraqi security forces in April stopped an attempt to fire a missile in the Zubair area, and at least three people were killed that same month when missiles fell on a house in Hur al-Zubair. The report said armed-group-linked companies have influence in the port, customs and oil sectors in Basra. It said those networks also exert pressure on local security forces through coercion and favoritism. Among the most influential groups, the report named Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the Nujaba Movement, Seyyid al-Shuhada Brigades and the Badr Organization.