Iraqi election candidate assassinated: party leader

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The head of an Iraqi Sunni political bloc on Saturday said an electoral candidate from his party has been assassinated.
 
"The assassination of Hashem al-Mashhadani, a member of Azm Coalition in Baghdad, is a dangerous message,"  the Secretary-General of the Arab Project in Iraq and head of Azm Coalition, Khamis al-Khanjar, tweeted.  "It represents the need to protect the democratic process, intellect, and activities of the public from uncontrolled weapons and terrorist groups."
 
A prominent Sunni alliance, the Azm Coalition is contesting parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
 
Khanjar said he is waiting for the killers of Mashhadani to be punished.
 
There have been a series of assassinations of activists and journalists in recent months in Iraq, with investigations yielding little to no results.
 
A Karbala activist was shot dead and a journalist in Diwaniyah was critically injured by unknown gunmen within 24 hours of each other in early May.
 
Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 10, 2021.