ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s national security service on Saturday announced that its forces had apprehended more than 30 people in connection with a religious fringe group accused of driving at least five people into committing suicide.
In multiple operations carried out in southern Iraq during the first half of 2024, forces dismantled a group called the Sacrificers, also known as al-Alahhiya (the Divine Ali), who deify the Shiite Imam and offer human sacrifices in his name, announced the spokesperson for the national security service Arshad al-Hakim.
One of the people arrested “confessed that the group performs an odd practice of holding a draw between them and whoever is chosen shall commit suicide through hanging themselves,” said Hakim.
At least 31 suspected members of the group were arrested across Wasit, Basra, and Nasiriyah, according to the spokesperson, who added that investigations continue to uncover the group’s motives and source of funding.
The group’s activities resulted in at least five people, all under the age of 22, committing suicide in Wasit province, Hakim said.
The group allegedly has thousands of members across Iraq, believed to have been influenced by similar religious movements in Iran. At least four members were arrested in Dhi Qar province in 2023.
Diwaniyah’s police directorate earlier this month announced that the group’s leader in Dhi Qar was arrested and that he confessed to killing two members as sacrifice.
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