ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The July attack on the Karkh agricultural ministry department in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was carried out by forces that “belong to the Kataib Hezbollah formation,” an investigative committee launched by the country’s premier concluded on Saturday.

An armed group stormed an agriculture ministry department in Baghdad late July upon the appointment of a new manager for the department. At least one police officer and one civilian were killed in the attack, in addition to several officers and personnel injured during the confrontations.

Security forces were able to arrest 14 individuals implicated in the attack, who were found to be members of brigades 45 and 46 of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), according to a statement by the Joint Operations Command. The two brigades are led by Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, secretary-general of the Kataib Hezbollah.

“The armed elements who committed this violation belong to the Kataib Hezbollah formation and are affiliated with the 45th and 46th Brigades of the Popular Mobilization Forces [PMF],” read a statement from Sudani’s spokesperson Sabah al-Numan, adding that Sudani had approved recommendations to relieve the commanders of the two brigades of their positions.

The forces “operated without orders or approval, contrary to established military procedures, and used weapons against members of the security services, resulting in the deaths and injuries of several people, some of whom were civilians.”

Shortly after the incident in late July, Kataib Hezbollah denied involvement in the attack, saying that "it was not a party to the clashes." Iraqi security forces arrested "a number of clients and employees affiliated with the PMF who had no connection to what happened at the Agricultural Department," said the militant group.

The committee further noted that the former head of the agricultural department Ayad Kazim Ali “was implicated in these events. Investigations, administrative orders, official documents, and his personal administrative file proved his involvement.”

The former director of the department was apprehended for his “direct involvement” in the debacle a day after the attack took place, according to an interior ministry statement.

During a meeting with the Coordination Framework on Saturday, Kataib Hezbollah Secretary General Hamidawi "called on the leaders of the Coordination Framework to block Sudani's decisions, saying they had lost balance and contradicted fundamental positions," said the group in a statement on Wednesday.

Hamidawi called for "the formation of a specialized committee from the framework to investigate the events.”

The US Embassy in Baghdad offered condolences a day after the attack “to the families of the victims who were killed by Kataib Hezballah, a US-designated terrorist organization within the Popular Mobilization Forces,” while calling on the Iraqi government to hold the perpetrators accountable.