Seven detained in anti-corruption operation at Nasiriyah municipality

NASIRIYAH, Iraq — Seven municipal employees and intermediaries were detained in an anti-corruption operation at the Nasiriyah Municipality in the southern Iraqi province of Dhi Qar, a source from the Dhi Qar Governorate Diwan said. Security forces carried out raids and searches targeting those engaged in corruption and their collaborators inside the municipality, according to the source. The detainees are accused of tampering with official documents and causing substantial damage to public property. The operation is part of a broader security and judicial campaign in Dhi Qar that has led to the detention of more than 23 officials and employees in recent months, with several directors general also removed from their posts. Investigators are focusing on alleged irregularities in the distribution of 40,000 plots of land by the Nasiriyah Municipality and contracts in the investment and health sectors that reportedly caused billions of dinars in public losses. Separately last Thursday, security forces detained the head of the Germa Bani Said municipality in southern Nasiriyah along with the municipal property branch director. The arrest warrants were issued based on statements given to security units by suspects already in custody, according to the source. The decisions were grounded in Article 341 of the amended Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969.