Leads emerge in al-Mashhadani assassination

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Investigators probing the killing of Baghdad Provincial Council member Safa al-Mashhadani have uncovered leads pointing to the perpetrators and their motives, a source familiar with the probe told Shafaq News on Thursday.

Al-Mashhadani, a member of the Sovereignty (al-Siyada) Alliance, was killed along with two companions when an explosive device targeted their vehicle in the Tarmiyah district, north of Baghdad.

According to the source, initial findings suggest that the group responsible for the assassination is local to Tarmiyah rather than linked to any external organization. Surveillance footage confirmed that the explosive device was planted inside the district. The bomb was locally made and connected to a mobile detonation system, allowing remote activation by phone once the target’s location was confirmed.

Al-Mashhadani’s vehicle movements were limited to Tarmiyah before he headed toward his office and later to a restaurant west of Baghdad, where the explosion occurred, the sources stated, noting, “Security authorities have preliminarily identified those involved and are completing technical and legal procedures before an official announcement is made.”

The victim was reportedly in dispute with a local group attempting to seize a plot of land in Tarmiyah, which investigators believe may have been the primary motive for his killing.

A security source told Shafaq News that al-Mashhadani survived the initial blast and instructed his companions to leave him behind as they tried unsuccessfully to pull him from the burning vehicle.

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