Kurdish family found dead under mysterious circumstances in Baghdad

A man, his wife and young child, were found inside their home in the Aqari neighborhood of Palestine Street in the center of the Iraqi capital.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A central Baghdad neighborhood has been shaken by the death of a Kurdish family, which is being treated as suspicious as they were discovered under mysterious circumstances by security sources and neighbors on Saturday.

A man, his wife, and young child were found inside their home in the Aqari neighborhood of Palestine Street in the center of the Iraqi capital.

Witnesses told Kurdistan 24 they could see gunshot wounds on the bodies, including that of the child and the mother. The man was a Faili Kurd working in the construction sector in Baghdad.

The deaths raised suspicions as the house had not been broken into and doors were seemingly locked after the crime was committed. Two days went by without anyone entering and exiting the house, prompting neighbors to check up on the family.

The motive behind the apparent murder is unknown, and police have yet to apprehend any suspects.

A majority of Faili Kurds in Iraq are Shia Muslim. They live in southern parts of Iraq, especially in Diyala, Baghdad, and Wasit with a small number in other provinces.

Last year, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi Parliament raised alarm bells that Faili Kurds in southern Iraq were increasingly facing threats at both the governmental and local levels, where they are asked to reject their ethnicity.

Faili Kurds face death threats, displacement, and lootings, seemingly more since the historic September 25 referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region.