ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Monday blamed inaccurate intelligence information for the massacre of 20 members of a family in Babil province, adding that 14 people have been detained and a number of security officials have been removed from their positions. Twenty members of a family were massacred in al-Rashayed village in Babil (Babylon) province on Thursday. The sister of Rahim Kazem al-Ghurairi, the wanted man accused of killing his extended family, told Rudaw on Friday that the security forces had killed the family members rather than her brother. The massacre has been widely criticised by the public. Kadhimi has been following the incident “with great interest the details of the bloody massacre committed in the Jableh area of Babil province,” read a statement from his office on Monday, adding that the PM had assigned the National Security Agency to investigate “the crime and reach the facts about its details and [find out] who is involved in.” The PM acknowledged “the defect in the security system that allowed the transmission of inaccurate intelligence information for personal purposes, causing the death of innocent people.” Following the investigation by the National Security Agency, 14 people were detained for being involved in the crime, according to the statement. Saad Maan, head of Security Media Cell, told state media late Sunday that if convicted the 14 detainees could be executed as per law. The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council said on Monday that the informants - nine officers and three agents - are being investigated for providing “inaccurate intelligence.” The head of Babil police as well as the directors of Babil and Jableh intelligences have been dismissed and they have been referred to immediate investigation, read the statement by Kadhimi’s office, adding that investigations will be expanded.
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