ERBIL, Iraq — Reports that Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for a member of a powerful armed group and arrested another have led to tentative hopes for the future of holding “outlaws” to account in the country, despite claims that some leaked documents were false.
A planned protest on the first anniversary of the Jan. 3 assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani by US drone strike and the Iran-linked Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis just outside the Baghdad airport failed to attract as many participants as had been expected. Concerns over threats about a major attack on US forces or interests as revenge for the assassination also did not materialize.
