Controversy grips Iraq after unexplained removal of top commander amid Iran-US tensions
- Staff Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi had served as the deputy head of the elite Counterterrorism Service
The sidelining of a prominent Iraqi general celebrated for helping oust jihadists from Mosul has generated controversy in a country caught in a tug of war between Tehran and Washington.
The Iraqi premiership on Friday announced it was decommissioning Staff Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, who had served as the deputy head of the elite Counterterrorism Service, without giving a reason.
As a top commander in the CTS, which was created and intensively trained by the US, Saadi helped recapture Mosul from the Islamic State in 2017 and is considered by many Iraqis to be a national hero.
On Friday, Saadi said he considered the shift to a posting at the defence ministry as an “insult” and a “punishment”.
The decision has sparked allegations of a purge of officials seen as unfavourable to Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, which includes factions close to Tehran.
An Iraqi government official who requested anonymity said pro-Iran factions within the Hashed had “personally” lobbied for Saadi’s removal.