Five detained in killing of Iraqi election candidate

Shafaq News – Baghdad (Updated at 22:50)

Five suspects have been detained in connection with the killing of Baghdad Provincial Council member Safaa al-Mashhadani in Tarmiyah, north of the capital, Iraq’s Interior Ministry revealed on Tuesday.

In a statement, the ministry said its forces, working with the Popular Mobilization Forces’ (PMF) security units, carried out precise operations that led to the arrests.

However, a source told Shafaq News that the five detainees are part of a larger group of nine suspects, including four others accused of assisting the main perpetrators, with additional individuals being questioned pending confessions and formal charges.

Al-Mashhadani, a candidate with the Sovereignty (Al-Siyada) Alliance, was killed on October 15 by a bomb fixed to his vehicle, and two of his escorts were injured. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had ordered an investigative committee to identify those behind the attack.

A source close to the inquiry earlier said the candidate had been in a dispute with a local faction over a piece of land, believed to be the main motive behind the attack.

The Alliance condemned the killing as an assault on the electoral process and urged authorities to protect candidates ahead of the November 11 vote.

Read more: Iraq’s Sovereignty Alliance candidate killed: What we know?