Baghdad Security Operation Leads to Arrest of Abu Deraa's Son
Iraqi security forces arrested Abu Deraa's son, known as Aloul, in Baghdad under a judicial warrant issued pursuant to Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iraqi security forces arrested the son of Ismail Hafiz Abdulali al-Lami, better known as Abu Deraa, during an operation in Baghdad's Rusafa district on Sunday, Sept. 20, according to the local media reports.
The son, known as Aloul, was detained under a judicial warrant issued pursuant to Article 4 of Iraq's Anti-Terrorism Law, a security source told local media.
Following the arrest, Aloul was transferred to the relevant authorities for legal proceedings.
The supplied material does not specify the allegations underlying the warrant beyond citing Article 4, nor does it provide further details about the case against him.
His arrest follows an earlier operation by a joint security force at Abu Deraa's home in eastern Baghdad.
According to the reports, that raid came after Baghdad's Central Investigation Court issued an arrest warrant for Aloul based on an official complaint filed by the Baghdad Municipality.
Abu Deraa's Background
Abu Deraa, whose real name is Ismail Hafiz al-Lami, became one of the most controversial militia figures associated with Iraq's sectarian violence following the 2003 US-led invasion.
According to Reuters, al-Lami rose to prominence during the Mahdi Army's 2004 confrontation with US forces and later became a prominent figure in Baghdad's Sadr City.
During the 2006-2007 period of intense sectarian conflict, Iraqi and American officials accused him of commanding death squads involved in abductions, torture, killings and the displacement of Sunni residents.
Abu Deraa denied indiscriminately targeting Sunnis. In a 2007 Reuters interview, he described himself as a Mahdi Army member fighting foreign occupation and rejected allegations that his forces tortured or expelled civilians.
Then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly accused him of directing sectarian death squads.
As US military operations intensified in 2007, Abu Deraa left Iraq and spent several years in Iran. He later returned and reappeared publicly in 2014 as ISIS seized large areas of northern and western Iraq.
His legacy remains sharply contested. Supporters have portrayed him as a defender of Shiite communities, while many Sunni Iraqis remember him as a symbol of militia violence and sectarian reprisals.
Sunday's arrest concerns his son, however, and the supplied reporting provides no basis for attributing Abu Deraa's past allegations or activities to Aloul.
The case now rests with the relevant Iraqi judicial authorities following his transfer after arrest.