Main suspect in Baghdad shooting detained

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi authorities arrested the main suspect in a shooting that killed two security personnel, including a brigadier, during an operation to remove unauthorized housing structures in southern Baghdad, Security Media Cell chief Lt. Gen. Saad Maan told Shafaq News on Saturday.

On August 28, security forces and Baghdad Municipality teams came under fire during the removal operation around Al-Dora, Karara, and Hay Al-Dijla. Brig. Gen. Hisham Mohammed Talaa, director of the Baghdad Municipality Police Department on the Karkh side, and Khalid Abbas Lafta, a security member, were left dead, while four others were wounded, including security personnel and municipal employees.

The Interior Ministry formed a joint security and intelligence team to investigate the attack and pursue those involved. Parliament recommended that the government also form a high-level committee to investigate the incident and directed its Security and Defense Committee to follow up on the case.

A Ministry of Planning survey covering 2021 and 2022 identified 4,679 informal settlements across Iraq housing about 3.7 million people, with Baghdad accounting for more than 1,000, or about 23% of the national total.

Read more: Al-Dora clash highlights Iraq’s 3.5 million informal settlement crisis