Rage in Iraq after ISIS Claims Murder of 7-Member Family

Iraqi security forces in Baghdad. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi security forces in Baghdad. (Reuters file photo)
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Rage in Iraq after ISIS Claims Murder of 7-Member Family

Iraqi security forces in Baghdad. (Reuters file photo)
Iraqi security forces in Baghdad. (Reuters file photo)

Gunmen murdered on Friday an entire family in Iraq’s Salaheddine province before fleeing the scene, in what has become an all-too-common occurrence in the country.

ISIS later claimed responsibility for the crime that took place in the Al-bu Dor area south of Tikrit.

The terror group said its gunmen killed all six family members, as well as a policeman, alleging that they were “spies” for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

The gunmen stormed the houses of the victims and gunned them down.

This is the first time that the group claims responsibility for such an attack. It did not claim other previous similar murders.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the crime.

The relatives of the deceased have refused to bury them until Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi or Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanmi arrive at the scene to listen to their demands.

Ghanmi arrived in the area on Saturday to hear the local grievances.

Months ago, a similar crime was reported in the al-Farhatiya region in Salaheddine where eight members of a single family were murdered. Investigators have yet to announce their findings.

No one claimed responsibility for the murders.

Detailing Friday’s crime, Marwan al-Jabara, a spokesman for the Salaheddine provincial council, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the perpetrators were dressed in military outfits and had used guns equipped with silencers to commit the murders.

All victims were members of the same family. An eighth person was left seriously wounded.

The security in the area is firmly controlled by a PMF brigade, Jabara said. None of the residents are allowed in or out of the area without permits, he revealed, wondering how the perpetrators managed to escape.

He warned that this will likely not be the last murder, urging the government to act to crack down on crime and protect the people.



Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Gaza Rescuers Say 72 Killed by Israeli Fire

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 19, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 72 people in the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 21 who had gathered to receive aid in central and southern Gaza.

Updating an earlier figure, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the death toll had risen to 72, "due to the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today -- 21 of them were waiting for aid.”

The Israeli army told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at "suspects" approaching them in the Netzarim area where the civil defense agency said 15 people were killed waiting for aid, but that it was "not aware of any injured individuals.”