A senior police officer was wounded in clashes with suspected drug dealers in Iraq.
The colonel with the anti-narcotics office in the northern part of Dhi Qar province was leading the raid when two suspects opened fire on the force, prompting clashes, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said on Saturday.
The officer, who has not yet been identified, sustained two gunshot wounds, one in the abdomen and another in the leg. He was transferred to hospital, underwent successful surgery, and his condition was stable, the ministry added.
The two suspects were also wounded, the ministry said. The raid ended with the seizure of a kilogram of the synthetic drug crystal meth, a Kalashnikov rifle, ammunition magazines, and five hand grenades, it added.
Drug trafficking has surged in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, posing a challenge to the country's security forces.
Officials blame inaction by previous governments, as well as widespread corruption among security forces, porous borders and a lack of co-operation between agencies, for the rise.
Since 2003, Iraq has been transformed from being a corridor for smuggling drugs to neighbouring countries to an illicit market where drug consumption is reaching unprecedented levels.
The most widely abused drug in the country is crystal methamphetamine, followed by Captagon, according to the Health Ministry. Others include tramadol, heroin and hashish.
Anti-drug campaigns have been launched, including in co-operation with neighbouring countries, mainly Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon. Several Iraqi and foreign dealers have been arrested, and drugs have been seized almost daily.
Iraq's Directorate General for Narcotics Affairs announced on Sunday that a cross-border intelligence operation with Kuwait had thwarted an attempt to smuggle 700,000 Captagon pills.
Units from the Anbar Anti-narcotics Directorate travelled to Kuwait for the operation, which took place in the Jawakhir Kabd area, it said.
Two people were arrested – an Iraqi national and a foreigner living in Kuwait illegally, the directorate said.
The statement did not say when the operation was conducted or to which country the suspects planned to smuggle the drugs.
