ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Five security forces members were injured during a raid on a drug trafficking network in Iraq’s southern Basra province that saw the arrest of seven suspects, a security source said Wednesday, noting that one of the wounded operators has had both of his legs amputated as a result.

“The clash resulted in the injury of five personnel: four from the SWAT regiment and one from Crime Prevention with varying injuries, who are currently receiving treatment in the hospital,” a security source in Basra told The New Region on the condition of anonymity, adding, “despite the exchange of gunfire, the force managed to arrest seven suspects inside the targeted farm.”

Iraq, with its extensive borders with Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, has evolved from a transit route to a significant consumption market. Authorities in both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, however, have redoubled their efforts to root out the problem, with initiatives aiming to provide users with necessary assistance, as well as frequent operations to apprehend traffickers.

The injured security personnel are still under medical monitoring, with one being in critical condition after their genitals were severed under heavy gunfire. Another had both legs amputated after being shot by the main suspect’s son, who is believed to be the first who opened fire.

A farm in western Basra’s Khor al-Zubair area was used as their base of operations, where “a Kalashnikov rifle, an empty magazine, a number of shell casings, and a DVR recording device that was used to monitor the farm's perimeter and secure entry and exit were seized,” the source said. 

Two Syrian women were also found living at the farm illegally, and investigations are ongoing on their “involvement in shelter operations or logistical assistance to the network.”

The clash also led to the farm catching fire. Firefighters were able to control the blaze before it spread.

Basra Police released an official statement claiming the arrest warrant was for someone accused of blackmail and extortion. It said that four were injured and seven suspects were arrested during the clashes without providing further details.

When the police and SWAT moved to “arrest a suspect accused of threatening and blackmailing a company owner in the Khor al-Zubair area, the force was subjected to gunfire by the suspect's relatives in an attempt to obstruct the execution of the arrest warrant, resulting in four personnel being injured with varying degrees of wounds,” the statement read.

“The executing force dealt with the situation firmly and returned fire at the sources according to legal procedures, while managing to arrest seven of the shooters,” it added.

Iraqi authorities arrested around 14,500 suspects on drug-related charges in 2024 and issued death sentences for 144 suspected drug traffickers. At least 454 others were sentenced to life (20 years), according to official data.

In the first three months of 2025 alone, authorities across Iraq detained at least 1,365 suspected drug traffickers of Iraqi nationality and 194 foreign nationals, according to data published by the General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances in late March.