ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A prominent activist in the city of Nasiriyah has survived a “vicious” assassination attempt, a local activist confirmed to Rudaw, after a “sticky bomb” was attached to his car.
This comes two weeks after the assassination of prominent Karbala activist and protest leader Ihab al-Wazni, threatening an unprecedented escalation in the targeting of activists in Iraq prior to the October elections.
A “sticky bomb”, an explosive device attached to vehicles and detonated remotely, targeted Imad al-Aqili’s car on Saturday, exploding near the city’s Faleh Pasha Grand Mosque, activist Mohammed Khayat confirmed to Rudaw.
Aqili is in stable condition after undergoing surgery, he added.
An hour after the incident, dozens of protesters stormed the Dhi Qar governorate building, calling for the dismissal of the local government. Other angry protesters headed to al-Haboubi Square, the city’s centerpoint for demonstrations, condemning the escalation of assassinations, which are largely attributed to Iran-backed militias.
“The assassination attempt was viscous, but we are still heading towards Baghdad tomorrow, and we don’t fear anything,” Khayat said.
The attempt on Aqili’s life comes two days prior to a large-scale demonstration planned in the capital, Baghdad on May 25. Activists and protesters in southern cities will start heading to Baghdad on Monday to mobilize, aiming to remind the government of the commitments and pledges it has made to protect demonstrators and activists.
On Saturday, unknown gunmen killed Hashem al-Mashhadani, a member of the Azm electoral Sunni alliance, in Baghdad.
Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi has previously pledged to identify and hold accountable the killers of Iraqi activists and protesters, but little has been done.
Increasing numbers of protesters are calling for October’s parliamentary elections to be cancelled as the government has failed to hold the killers of activists accountable.
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said “there are few other signs” that Kadhimi had made any progress in the matter, saying the impunity for the killings will “cast a pall” over the elections.
At least 600 people have been killed and more than 18,000 injured since the protests began, according to figures released by Amnesty International last year.
