Family of killed businessman deny links to Israel

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Families and friends of Karam Mikhail Saridar, an Iraqi businessman who was killed in the recent Iranian attack on Erbil, held a wake for him on Wednesday, strongly rejecting the claims that he was involved in business with Israel.

Iran’s IRGC in the late hours of Monday launched ten ballistic missiles towards the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil, under the pretext of targeting “spy headquarters” of anti-Iran groups, killing at least four and wounding 17 others.

The target of the attack was the residence of prominent Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee, where Saridar was attending a social gathering. Dizayee, his youngest daughter, Saridar, and a housekeeper were killed in the strike on the house. 

Safeen Dizayee, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) head of Foreign Relations, attended the procession held for Saridar. 

“The things that have been mentioned are all unfounded. The delegation from Baghdad also came and saw the truth for themselves. The accusations are baseless. It was a great injustice. May God not accept this injustice,” Safeen Dizayee told Rudaw’s Mustafa Goran.

Saridar was the founder and CEO of Manahil El Ryan, a leading consumer electronics distributor in Iraq and the country’s first online marketplace.

The Erbil branch of the company provides job opportunities for nearly 150 people.

Founded in 2014, the company is the official distributor for Asian tech giants Samsung Electronics and Sony in Iraq.

“These accusations are baseless and unfounded. We are far from politics. Our company focuses solely on trade. We have no connection to politics,” said Nazih Wadi’, manager of Manahil El Ryan Baghdad branch.

A number of Erbil’s priests and bishops visited the scene of the attack to take a closer look at the devastation left behind by the Iranian attack.

“They are a well-known family in Mosul for their integrity, trust, hard work, and love. They are a family worthy of appreciation. Karam was an independent person who had no affiliations to anything apart from his business. That was the Karam Saridar we loved, and I personally knew on a deep personal level for 20 years,” said Nizar Samaan, bishop of the Syriac Catholic Church.

Saridar’s family are originally from the Nineveh Plains and currently reside in the United Kingdom. Upon his father’s request, the body is set to be returned to the UK for burial. He is survived by his two children.