Iraq's PM oversees efforts to release kidnapped Turkish workers

The abduction of 18 Turkish workers from the centre of Iraq's capital Baghdad a few weeks ago and the announcement by an armed militia that it was responsible for the kidnapping have prompted Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi to ask the leaders of the National Alliance to work with him to ensure their safe return

This is the first official request from Abadi to his political allies since relations strained over the launch of his planned reforms process.

An informed source in the National Alliance has revealed that Abadi asked the top leaders of the Alliance to help him exert pressure on the militias after their involvement has been proven in the kidnapping of the Turkish worker and demanding a ransom and impossible conditions from the Turkish government in exchange for their release.

The source also told al-Araby al-Jadeed that the prime minister had said to his political allies that the presence of the Popular Mobilisation militia in Baghdad and the other provinces hinders reforms measures that his government had launched and threatens security and social stability.

The source, who requested anonymity said: "Abadi told those present that some of these factions belong to political parties in the National Alliance," and added that the prime minister called on its leaders to speed up their dissolution or removing them far away from cities, until special laws are legislated that would govern their work so long as they refuse to go the battlefronts.

Meanwhile, the National Alliance held a meeting headed by Ibrahim al-Jaafari in the presence of Abadi, the head of the Badr milita Hadi al-Amiri, the chairman of Iraq's Islamic Supreme Council Ammar al-Hakim, Dawa Party representative Hassan al-Sinead, Walid al-Karimawi from the Sadrist movement's Al-Aharar bloc, Faleh al-Fayad from the Reform movement, and Hashim al-Hashimi from the Islamic Virtue Party to discuss the growing phenomenon of kidnapping in Baghdad and ways to stop it.

Abadi's request to help search for the abducted Turks has clearly divided the Alliance.

The abduction of 18 Turkish workers in Baghdad weakens the prestige of the Iraqi security forces, and shows that armed militias control the levers of the state. -National Alliance member Mohammad Radi

Alliance member Mohammad Radi told al-Araby that Abadi had launched his reforms package to reinforce state institutions that adhere to the Constitution and law, noting that the presence of armed militias that would kidnap, kill and threaten in broad daylight represents a clear violation of the state's sovereignty.

"The abduction of 18 Turkish workers in Baghdad weakens the prestige of the Iraqi security forces, and shows that armed militias control the levers of the state," Radi added and pointed out that a repeat of these incidents could harm Iraq's foreign relations.

State of Law coalition MP Jassim Mohammad Jaafar said that the presence of armed factions in Baghdad weakens security institutions, pointing out that the leaders of the National Alliance have discussed during their last meeting the kidnappings and added: "The meeting discussed the issue of keeping or removing armed factions from Baghdad and the need to limit their role to the battlefronts and secure the capital."

The concentration of the Popular Mobilisation militias in Baghdad after their withdrawal from the battlefields has raised concerns for Abadi who considers this to be a threat to his government, prompting him to seek their redistribution to the battle fronts in Anbar and Salahuddin.

An armed militia that gave itself the name "Death Squads" had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the Turkish workers and put several conditions for their release, while Iraqi forces failed to break into the headquarters of Iraqi Hizballah in the Palestine Street district, east of Baghdad, where the workers are likely to be held.