Sadr’s bases and religious centers attacked in Maysan after provincial win

16-05-2018
Rudaw
Tags: Muqtada al-Sadr Iraq election Maysan Iran Hashd al-Shaabi
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two military and religious bases, which belonged to the Sadrist Movement, were attacked by unknown gunmen in Maysan province in southeastern Iraq.

Maysan is located on Iraq-Iran border and is a Shiite-populated province. The targeted Sadrist Movement beat other Shiite parties and coalitions on Saturday’s election and won the province.

The unnamed military source, which talked to the UK-based Elaph online outlet, explained that the perpetrators blew up Saraya al-Salam’s 28th Brigade headquarters and the movement’s Malik al-Ashtar cultural center, which is used for religious affairs.

Sadr released a statement confirming the attack on Wednesday, calling the attackers a "group of cowards," but not laying blame on any party.

In a video obtained by Rudaw, the movement’s bases have been largely damaged.

 


No group has claimed the attack in Maysan, which is southeast of Baghdad and shares a long border with Iran.

Saraya al-Salam is the movement’s military wing which is affiliated with the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary and played a significant role in the fight against ISIS.

The Sadrist Movement is led by the firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who drew more international attention this week after his list gained more than 50 seats in parliament — beating all other Shiite coalitions, according to official preliminary results from Iraq’s election body.

 

Maysan provincial preliminary official results:
1. Sayirun (Sadr) - 133,959
2. Fatih (Amiri) - 63,669
3. Hikma Front (Hakim) - 40,176
4. Victory Alliance (Abadi) - 36,257
5. State of Law (Maliki) - 32,137 

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