TUZ KHURMATU — A Kurdish Imam was shot dead on Saturday afternoon in the disputed town of Tuz Khurmatu, causing outrage among the local population. Following the burial procession of Imam Salah Mullah Jamal, who leads congregational prayers at the Imam of Hussein Mala Wahab Mosque protests ensued. Protesters accused armed Shiite militiamen in the town of orchestrating the killing, Rudaw's correspondent said. Tuz Khurmatu, a town in Salahaddin province falls under Iraq’s “disputed territories,” which are claimed by the Iraqi government in Baghdad, and the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north. The Kurdistan Region’s Parliamentary speaker Yousif Muhammed said the strategic town was part of Kurdistan in July 2014. Since the Islamic State militants forced the Iraqi army to desert their positions in June 2014, the Kurdistan Regional Government moved Peshmerga forces to fill the vacuum. The Kurdish Peshmerga forces have since controlled most of the “disputed territories”, including the oil-rich Kirkuk.
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