Iraq

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Commission announced on September 20 that its forces had arrested a suspected international drug trafficker near the Iraq-Syria border. The commission, which oversees the Popular Mobilization Forces, described the detainee as a prominent international trafficker but did not disclose the person's name or nationality. The announcement came amid intensified Iraqi efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and cross-border criminal networks. The supplied report did not specify the exact location of the arrest, the substances involved, or whether the suspect had been formally charged.

The head of the anti-drug directorate in Iraq's Dhi Qar province was wounded during a shootout with two suspected drug traffickers in the Shatra district on the evening of September 19. The incident was reported by Rudaw in an article published the following day. The report did not identify the wounded official or the two suspects, disclose whether either suspect was arrested, or provide additional information about the circumstances of the confrontation. The incident occurred amid an intensified Iraqi campaign against narcotics trafficking.