Diyala Security Forces arrested commissioner of the Jalawla sub-district following different charges.
Sources confirmed to KirkukNow that the police department, on Sunday, February 16, went to Jalawla district and arrested Yaqub Yusif Lhibi, commissioner of the subdistrict. His arrest came after an arrest warrant issued by the Ministry of Interior.
He has been charged with “corruption and house destructions.”
“At 9 a.m. on Sunday, based on a decision made by Baghdad, Criminal Investigation Department of Police arrested Yaqub Yusuf,” Khalil Khudad, head of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Jalawla, said.
PUK appointed Yaqub Yusuf as the commissioner of the subdistrict after the liberation of the town from ISIS in 2015.
“Now, he is in the Baquba prison, and we are aware that he will be moved to Baghdad for investigations,” Khudad stated.
We are aware that he will be moved to Baghdad for investigations
Khudad thinks that the accusations against him are not real. He stated, “he has been accused and arrested several times... none of them are correct, and they want to dismiss him from the position.”
The reason for the charges against him, he said, is some parties attempt to take the position from PUK and appoint their nominee for it.
In March 2018, Yaqub was detained for three months after facing charges of “taking part” in house destructions in Tajdid neighborhood and trespassing state properties.
Jalawla subdistrict, which belongs to the Khanaqin district, Diyala province, is a disputed area between the central and the regional government. Its population consists of Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen.
Jalawla fell under the control of ISIS in Mid 2014, and the Kurdish Peshmerga retook it in the same year and secured it until their withdrawal from the disputed areas on October 16, 2017.
