Iraq security brief: Arrests, crashes, deaths

2026-02-04 - 21:46

Shafaq News Below is a summary of key security and public safety incidents reported across Iraq on Feb. 4. - Gold Theft, Minor Abduction Foiled (Diyala) Police arrested an Egyptian national accused of stealing cash and two gold bars and abducting a minor girl in Baqubah. The suspect was tracked down in Baghdad, the girl was recovered unharmed, and the stolen items were seized. - Gas Tanker Crash Shuts Highway (Babil) A gas tanker collided with three vehicles and overturned at the entrance to Al-Nile subdistrict north of Hilla, forcing the closure of the Basra–Baghdad international highway in both directions. No fatalities were reported. - Iranian Women Arrested With Drugs (Basra) Security forces detained three Iranian women during an ambush in central Basra, seizing more than half a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine. The suspects were referred to judicial authorities. - Senior Baath Party Figure Detained (Kirkuk) The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) arrested a former senior Baath Party official in Hawija district under the Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party ban law. Authorities said the suspect held an organizational role in the party’s former civilian wing. - Deadly Traffic Collision Claims Mother, Son (Kirkuk) A severe crash at the Kiwan intersection in Hawija killed a woman and her son and left the father and three children critically injured. An investigation into the cause is underway. - House Fire Kills Father and Daughter (Baghdad) A fire triggered by an electrical short circuit and water heater explosion killed a man and his daughter in eastern Baghdad’s Sadr City. Civil defense teams extinguished the blaze. - Woman Killed by Lightning Strike (Dhi Qar) A woman in her 50s died after being struck by lightning while grazing sheep in Al-Fajr district amid unstable weather conditions. - Multiple Traffic and Security Incidents (Saladin / Basra / Dhi Qar) - Two people were injured after a truck struck a power transmission tower in Saladin. - Six people, including two Chinese nationals, were injured in a rollover crash on the Rumaila road in Basra. - Two intoxicated men were wounded in an armed altercation in Al-Gharraf district, Dhi Qar. - Authorities also recorded the suicide of a man in his 20s inside his home in the Ur area east of Nasiriyah.