Iraqi security arrest 5 people allegedly involved in killing teen amid protests

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security authorities on Sunday announced the arrest of five individuals on allegations they had participated in the recent killing of a teenager whom protesters claimed had shot at them in Baghdad.

The incident occurred on Friday when some protesters reportedly killed a teenage male and hung his body on a utility pole near his home in Baghdad’s al-Wathba Square. The protesters then took the body down and dragged it on the streets.

Many reports described the circumstances of the incident, with some suggesting the riot police had assisted protesters in the attack on the victim’s home.

Dozens gathered at the scene, with some taking pictures and filming as others shouted that the fate of “infiltrators” would be “the pole.” So-called “infiltrators” or “saboteurs” have been accused of trying to derail protests and, on occasion, wounding and killing demonstrators.

Graphic social media videos showed protesters beating the teen’s lifeless body. Many comments sharply criticized the move and considered it a departure from the largely peaceful spirit of the national anti-corruption demonstrations.

“The security forces have arrested five people accused of the crime in the al-Wathba incident, based on judicial orders issued against them,” Khaled al-Muhanna, the Interior Ministry spokesperson, told the official Iraqi News Agency.

The official added that the ministry is continuing to investigate the “terrorist incident” and will pursue “all perpetrators involved in the crime.”

Iraqi authorities have said the victim was a 17-year-old boy who was irritated by the repeated presence of demonstrators nearby his family’s house and had asked them to leave the location.

The protesters refused the teenager’s request, leading to a verbal altercation that quickly escalated into physical violence, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces spokesperson, Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf.

While many questioned the official version of the events, protesters in Tahrir Square issued a statement disavowing the perpetrators of the killing and demanded their arrest.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany