Targeted Assassinations Haunt Upcoming Elections in Iraq

The logo of the Independent High Electoral Commission
The logo of the Independent High Electoral Commission
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Targeted Assassinations Haunt Upcoming Elections in Iraq

The logo of the Independent High Electoral Commission
The logo of the Independent High Electoral Commission

Targeted assassinations threatening the lives of civil society activists and candidates running in Iraq’s 2021 parliamentary elections, slated for October 10, have fueled fears that the early vote will be delayed until next year.

Ihab al-Wazni, who helped organize anti-government protests that swept Iraq in October 2019, was shot dead on Sunday outside his home in Karbala, a city located 100 km south of Baghdad.

Only a day later, another murder attempt sought to take out journalist Ahmed Hassan in the nearby city of Diwaniyah, located 180 km south of the capital.

In parallel, a female candidate from Baqubah province, situated northeast of Baghdad, also reported an attempt on her life.

The heightened risk of assassination has been directly linked to candidates increasingly pulling out from the October race.

For example, the Bayariq Al-Khair parliamentary bloc revealed on Wednesday that some of its candidates had withdrawn from the upcoming elections after receiving death threats.

“Some candidates of the Bayariq al-Khair bloc in Baghdad withdrew from the upcoming parliament elections after receiving death threats,” said Muhammad al-Khalidi, who heads the bloc.

Khalidi held relevant security authorities responsible for the safety of candidates.

“Security services are aware of what happened and have seen the messages that the candidates received,” he said.

Traditional political parties in Iraq are in dismay over the prospects of losing some of their power in parliament after the October poll, which is predicted to log a higher turnout rate compared to previous elections.

Civil society candidates, who represent anti-government protesters and movements, will be partaking in the elections and are likely to win over some of the seats formerly held by conventional politicians.

Threatened by this white-hot competition, weakened parties are likely to resort to carrying out a troubling campaign of assassinations to eliminate their rivals.

Although assassinations have been part of the Iraqi political scene for years now, this is the first time the killings are taking place away from western governorates, where Al-Qaeda and ISIS were typically behind eliminating those partaking in elections.



After Israeli Attack, Source Denies Hamas Presence in Syria

The police headquarters in the Quneitra province. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The police headquarters in the Quneitra province. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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After Israeli Attack, Source Denies Hamas Presence in Syria

The police headquarters in the Quneitra province. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The police headquarters in the Quneitra province. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Israeli forces carried out early on Sunday an incursion inside Quneitra in southern Syria towards a position previously held by the ousted regime.

Syrian media said the forces approached the outskirts of the village of Ain al-Nourieh and destroyed a military position used by the regime.

Earlier this month, Israeli forces withdrew from buildings they had held in Quneitra after holding them for over 40 days.

Sources said the troops had destroyed furniture, vehicles and computers, as well as official documents and files related to the residents of Quneitra.

On Saturday, the Israeli army announced that it had destroyed a Hamas arms depot in the Dier al-Ali area in Syria’s Kiswa region in the Damascus countryside.

The military said the weapons were being stored to be used in terrorist attacks against Israel.

“Palestinian organizations, led by Hamas, were using Syrian territories to carry out terrorist acts at Iran’s orders,” it claimed.

A source close to Hamas denied to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Palestinian movement had any military presence in Syria.

Hamas left Syria in the early days of the Syria conflict, which erupted in 2011, it clarified.

Hamas officials may have visited members of the ousted regime since then, but the movement has no presence there “in any way shape or form.”

“Israel is lying and its attacks targeted former regime positions,” it stressed.

A local source told Suwayda 24 that the Israeli strike on Saturday targeted a depot the Military Operations Command had used to store weapons collected from the former regime.