A joint security force from the Iraqi intelligence service and the counter-terrorism agency arrested a number of members of armed groups south of Baghdad.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said that well-informed Iraqi sources reported that the operation - which took place in the areas of "Hawr Rajab" and Al-Boatha, south of Baghdad on Thursday evening - included the arrest of more than 20 members of groups claiming to be affiliated with the so-called Islamic resistance factions.
He added that those sources made it clear that the operation included the "cave-owners" groups, the "rebel league", and two headquarters for the "Hezbollah" and "Soleimani Soldiers", referring to the Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in an American operation early this year. Ongoing.
The sources said that the attacking force had found several Katyusha rockets and workshops to manufacture missile launchers at the raid sites.
The French press agency stated that the Iraqi anti-terrorist agency arrested gunmen from a pro-Iranian faction, against the backdrop of missile attacks against American interests in the country.
A government source and two other security officials said that the persons arrested, south of Baghdad, had seized and fired missiles.
They indicated that they belonged to the Hezbollah Brigades faction, which Washington has repeatedly accused of targeting its soldiers and diplomats with missile attacks in Iraq.
A government official confirmed to Reuters that 3 Hezbollah leaders had been arrested, confirming that one of them was an Iranian. The official added that the three arrested leaders were handed over to the US military.
A spokesman for the US-led coalition in Iraq has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Missiles
Since October 2019, more than 33 missiles have targeted Iraqi facilities hosting diplomats or foreign soldiers, including 6 attacks in the past two weeks alone.
In a sign of the seriousness of the situation, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi held a meeting last week of the National Security Council to discuss the issue of rockets, and pledged to pursue those responsible.
Before the beginning of the popular movement in Iraq last October, former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, commander of the anti-terrorist forces, Abdel Wahab al-Saadi, was relieved of his post, to return Al-Kazemi and appoint him head of the device recently.
The Hezbollah Brigades is part of the popular crowd that was formed with a religious fatwa in 2014, to confront the Islamic State, and was later considered part of the official Iraqi forces.