The Council of Ministers approved a dedicated fund to compensate victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and other international crimes. The decision was announced Friday by Khalaf Sinjari, the prime minister’s adviser for Yazidi affairs, and forms part of the draft International Crimes Law. The fund will have legal personality and financial and administrative independence at a level below a general directorate. Its financing can come from grants and assistance provided by states and international or regional bodies, as well as money obtained by Iraq through lawsuits and claims related to international crimes. The Council of Ministers will issue later regulations governing the fund’s affiliation, structure, management and spending. The decision establishes the institution, while its operating rules remain pending.
Iraqi naval forces thwarted what a security source described as an attempted pirate attack on the MAYSAL-RAYM oil tanker near the Basra Oil Terminal on Saturday. The source said armed men approached in two boats while the tanker was operating in a ship-to-ship loading and unloading area. Naval forces were alerted, moved to the area and brought the situation under control. They arrested 11 suspects aboard the two boats. The intervention stopped the incident in Iraqi territorial waters used for maritime oil operations near a major export facility.
An electricity transmission tower on the Haditha-Baiji power line was reportedly blown up on Friday, cutting the line. Saad Ghazi al-Mohammadi, head of the Anbar Provincial Council’s security committee, told Shafaq News the link had been severed. Hours earlier, security forces foiled what a source described as an ISIS attempt to attack another power tower in the same area. The forces intervened before the militants reached the second tower and prevented damage there. No casualties were reported in either incident, but the line was cut despite the earlier intervention elsewhere along the corridor.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s security adviser Qasim al-Araji said the committee bringing weapons under state control has no fixed completion deadline. He said the Coordination Framework formed the committee and al-Zaidi directly supervises it. Once the process is complete, anyone carrying weapons illegally will face the law and be treated as a terrorist. Sabereen News (KH — affiliated), Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) and iNEWS (KSS — affiliated) relayed the same no-deadline formulation. Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) tied 30 September to the end of foreign military presence, while government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi called the coalition mission’s end that day a sovereignty milestone. The government has therefore separated an open-ended weapons process from the fixed coalition date. Shafaq News, citing a government source, nevertheless reported that al-Zaidi would ask President Donald Trump to postpone possible financial or economic measures if factional weapons remained unresolved after 30 September. On Saturday, $100 sold for IQD 160,250 in Baghdad, while Eco Iraq listed concern over possible U.S. sanctions and post-30 September weapons developments among several factors behind the dollar’s rise.
The PMF said its Investigations and Preventive Security Directorate arrested a judicially wanted person in Kirkuk. It said preliminary information allegedly indicated links to former ISIS members and leaders. Separately, the PMF said Brigade 27 intelligence and its Intelligence and Information Directorate arrested a person under a judicial warrant in al-Karma for allegedly promoting the banned Baath Party. Neither detainee’s case has been ruled on by a court. Al-Nujaba TV (Nujaba — official) identified PMF Brigade 12 in a field sweep in Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad. Al-Ghadeer described a rapid sweep there, while Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) called it a wide security operation. Watan TV (Badr Organization — affiliated) also reported the rapid sweep, although its photographs did not establish the location or unit. The channel accounts agree on PMF activity in Tarmiyah but differ over its scale and the identification of the unit.
Shabab al-Islam (Ashab al-Kahf — owned/non-official) reported that the amended PMF law had been sent and was heading to parliament. That conflicts with Parliamentary Security and Defence Committee member Iskandar Witwit’s statement on 17 September that lawmakers were still awaiting the amended law from the government. Political analyst Ibrahim al-Sarraj also listed the measure among more than 80 stalled bills. Neither parliament nor the government has confirmed receiving it. The conflicting accounts leave the law at the same unresolved procedural stage recorded Friday, with no parliamentary agenda date.
Iraqi faction channels broadened their carriage of Yemeni statements against Saudi Arabia. Shabab al-Islam, Jehad Brothers Team (Nujaba — affiliated) and Sabereen carried a Yemeni march statement pledging to continue the battle against Saudi Arabia, support Yemeni forces and strike Saudi mobilizations. Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official), Unit 10,000 and Al-Ghadeer instead selected passages defending Yemen’s Islamic identity and rejecting an allegation concerning Mecca, without the full escalation formula. The different selections were relays of the Yemeni statement, not declarations by the Iraqi factions. Six channels also relayed Ansar Allah political bureau member Hizam al-Asad’s warning that an alleged Saudi action in Sana’a would receive a response. Sabereen, Unit 10,000 and iNEWS then carried al-Asad’s claim that Saudi oil production and exports were being reduced to zero, although Saudi Arabia has not reported such a reduction. None of those channels described an Iraqi operation. Since 1 September, the desk has counted 13 of 33 watched channels across five networks surging on Yemen.