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Iraqi Official: Iraq’s Security Up For Sale | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat – A senior security official in Iraq has revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that security positions in Iraq are being sold.

The official who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity said that administrative and financial corruption is having a significant impact on the security situation in the country adding that “there are some posts in security institutions that are being bought, in particular the posts of Battalion Commander and Squadron Leader, for tens of thousands of dollars, and this was confirmed by one of the senior official Intelligence officers.”

Adel Barwari, a member of the Iraqi Parliamentary Defense and Security Committee, believes that in addition to financial and administrative corruption, another factor that has contributed to the security deterioration is partisanship and sectarian conflict between political blocs and parties involved in the State.

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior on Sunday rushed to put an end to speculation over the killing of an officer involved in the investigation into the bloody bombings that shook Baghdad last Sunday. In a statement, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said that the suspect was being given water by one of the guards when “the suspect took him by surprise and disarmed him of his weapon before shooting and wounding him and then firing upon Major Arkham Hachim who did not hesitate to engage in a fight; however this led to the martyrdom of the Major. The suspect then suffered a gunshot wound and was transferred to a nearby hospital, where he died of severe blood loss.”