Iraqi PM al-Zaidi takes over National Intelligence Service leadership

Iraqi Prime Minister and commander-in-chief Ali al-Zaidi has assumed the leadership of the National Intelligence Service as part of a plan to complete Iraq's sovereignty.

• Al-Zaidi took over the service's leadership Thursday during a visit to its headquarters, confirmed spokesman for the commander-in-chief Sabah al-Nu'man.
• Al-Zaidi said the intelligence service belongs to all Iraqis and must be kept out of partisan, factional and sectarian quotas.
• On Monday, al-Zaidi issued a decree ending Hamid al-Shatri's appointment as intelligence chief without giving reasons.
• Al-Shatri had headed the service since December 2024 under former prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.