Senior police officer wounded in armed clashes with suspected drug dealers in Iraq’s south

A senior police officer was wounded in clashes with suspected drug dealers in Iraq, according to the Iraqi Interior Ministry. The colonel with the anti-narcotics office in the northern part of Dhi Qar province was leading the raid when two suspects opened fire on the force, prompting a gunfight, the ministry said on Saturday. The officer sustained two gunshot wounds, one in the abdomen and another in the leg, and was transferred to hospital where he underwent successful surgery. His condition was reported as stable, and the two suspects were also wounded. The raid ended with the seizure of a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine, a Kalashnikov rifle, ammunition magazines, and five hand grenades. Drug trafficking has surged in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion, posing significant challenges to security forces due to past governmental inaction, widespread corruption, porous borders, and lack of agency cooperation. Iraq has transformed from a transit corridor into an illicit consumer market where crystal meth and Captagon are among the most widely abused substances. Authorities have launched various anti-narcotics campaigns in cooperation with neighboring countries such as Syria, Kuwait, and Lebanon. Furthermore, Iraq's Directorate General for Narcotics Affairs announced that a cross-border intelligence operation with Kuwait thwarted an attempt to smuggle 700,000 Captagon pills in the Jawakhir Kabd area, resulting in two arrests.