Moderate Islamic preacher murdered in Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – An Islamic preacher who is also linked to the moderate Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) was killed by unidentified armed men in front of his house Tuesday night in Erbil, the party’s official media reported.

Dr. Wushyar Ismail was a preacher at a mosque in Erbil, he also had a TV program on the KIU’s satellite channel Sped TV.

His brother told Rudaw that he was rushed to the hospital after the shooting for treatment. 

Erbil police said they will conduct thorough investigation, and warned they will take it seriously. 

“Mr Wushyar was a famous and dear personality in Erbil. We will not pass by his killing easily, and in in this regard all security institutions have been assigned to find a clue or a suspect,” Erbil's police spokesperson Hogir Aziz told Rudaw on Wednesday. 

He was shot multiple times by armed men in front of his house, the party’s official media reported, citing an unnamed source. 

The KIU media described the killing as a terrorist act. 

Video footage published on the social media show large crowds of people attending his funeral in a mosque in Erbil.