Iraqi security forces sealed off all entrances to Baghdad's Green Zone early Sunday and arrested seven people, including five members of Parliament, on corruption charges, according to a security agency report obtained by the Associated Press.
ABC News reported the arrests came after statements made by former Deputy Minister of Oil Adnan al-Jumaili, who was detained last month. Parliamentary immunity for some of the lawmakers had been lifted before the operation.
The Green Zone is a heavily fortified area of central Baghdad that houses key government institutions and foreign embassies. Iraqi state media reported the raids through the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
Some of those arrested belonged to the political bloc of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whose coalition won the largest share of seats in November's parliamentary elections. Al-Sudani ultimately stepped aside amid a deadlock within the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shiite parties allied with Iran. He was replaced by Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman and political newcomer who received support from the United States.
The specific charges against each individual arrested had not been publicly confirmed as of Sunday morning. The arrests are expected to reverberate across Iraq's fractured political system, where corruption accusations often intersect with disputes over power and influence among competing factions.
