ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi court in Baghdad sentenced a person to death on Monday for killing a Dhi Qar counterterrorism official earlier this year.
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Brigadier General Aziz Shalal Jahl, head of intelligence at Dhi Qar’s counterterrorism directorate, was killed while attempting to resolve a tribal dispute in March.
"The convict shot the victim while he [Jahl] was performing his work as an officer in the Ministry of Interior, which led to his death in Dhi Qar province/Islah district,” read a statement from the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council on Monday.
The Karkh criminal court issued the sentence in accordance with the provisions of the 1969 Iraqi penal code.
Dhi Qar Governor Murtadha al-Ibrahimi expressed sadness at the time of the killing, saying that he had phone calls with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and Interior Minister Abdul-Amir al-Shammari, during which the Iraqi premier stressed the need to take all necessary “legal and judicial” measures against the perpetrators.
Tribal disputes in Iraq are one of the major challenges facing Sudani’s cabinet, as repeated clashes across the country's southern and central provinces have resulted in many casualties.
Dhi Qar is among the provinces most affected by tribal clashes and altercations, at times requiring army intervention.
