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.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.