Iran's influence seen in transfer of Iraqi war hero
The recent transfer of a widely popular commander is thought to be an Iranian-backed effort to discredit Iraq's Counterterrorism Service, which is seeking to maintain its independence and military capability.
The death toll continued to rise Friday as Iraqi security forces fired on demonstrators protesting everything from government corruption, to a lack of public services, to unemployment. But another subject motivated many of the marchers: the removal of a beloved war hero from his post and the belief that Iran was behind it.
Many protesters in Baghdad and other Iraqi southern cities are carrying posters of Abdul Wahab al-Saadi, who was unceremoniously yanked from his position as second in command of the Counterterrorism Service in late September and reassigned to a job shuffling paperwork.
Protesters see him as a national hero who won the battle against the Islamic State (IS) and now, instead of rewarding him, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi is punishing him.
Saadi, who was second-in-command at the Counterterrorism Service, was transferred Sept. 27 to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. This is where military personnel sometimes are sent as punishment, where they abstain from carrying out any duties and stick to mundane office work.
