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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — At least six people were killed and another wounded, all from one family, in an attack carried out by unidentified gunmen who raided a house in Tikrit, Salahaddin province, an official told Rudaw English.
The Friday morning attack in the al-Boudur district of Tikrit targeted a family that includes a member of Iraq’s security forces and a lawyer. The six victims, including women, were all relatives, Amer Shindah, mayor of Tikrit, confirmed to Rudaw English.
Shindah ruled out tribal conflict as the cause of the murders, saying the killings were carried out by “terrorists.”
Iraq’s Security Media Cell stated, “An armed terrorist gang killed a family of four men and two women in the same house."
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Salahaddin is a predominantly Sunni region. Areas of the province, along with Anbar, Nineveh and Diyala in the north and west, fell to the Islamic State (ISIS) when the group swept through Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. ISIS militants remain a security threat in the area.
In addition, Iranian-backed units within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been accused of “mass executions” in Salahaddin. In January, Iraqi parliament’s human rights committee called for an urgent investigation into a newly discovered mass grave in the province, in which tens of bodies were reportedly found, some belonging to children. A local official blamed the PMF.
Last October, about 25 armed men wearing official uniforms with the slogans of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a PMF unit, raided Salahaddin province’s village of al-Farhatiya, arresting a dozen men. Eight were found shot dead the following day, according to Human Rights Watch.
The Friday morning attack in the al-Boudur district of Tikrit targeted a family that includes a member of Iraq’s security forces and a lawyer. The six victims, including women, were all relatives, Amer Shindah, mayor of Tikrit, confirmed to Rudaw English.
Shindah ruled out tribal conflict as the cause of the murders, saying the killings were carried out by “terrorists.”
Iraq’s Security Media Cell stated, “An armed terrorist gang killed a family of four men and two women in the same house."
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Salahaddin is a predominantly Sunni region. Areas of the province, along with Anbar, Nineveh and Diyala in the north and west, fell to the Islamic State (ISIS) when the group swept through Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. ISIS militants remain a security threat in the area.
In addition, Iranian-backed units within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been accused of “mass executions” in Salahaddin. In January, Iraqi parliament’s human rights committee called for an urgent investigation into a newly discovered mass grave in the province, in which tens of bodies were reportedly found, some belonging to children. A local official blamed the PMF.
Last October, about 25 armed men wearing official uniforms with the slogans of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a PMF unit, raided Salahaddin province’s village of al-Farhatiya, arresting a dozen men. Eight were found shot dead the following day, according to Human Rights Watch.
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