Unidentified gunmen assassinate well-known protester in Baghdad

"Iraqi died after arriving at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, as he was shot five times in the attack."

Mustafa Shilani 2020/12/15 20:46

Prominent Baghdad protester Salah al-Iraqi was assassinated by unknown gunmen on Dec. 15, 2020. (Photo: Social Media)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Unknown assailants in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad assassinated a prominent activist who was participating in ongoing anti-government protests on Tuesday.

Security sources confirmed to local media that "unidentified gunmen shot demonstration activist Salah al-Iraqi in the Baghdad Jadida (New Baghdad) area."

One of the sources continued that, soon thereafter, "Iraqi died after arriving at Sheikh Zayed Hospital, as he was shot five times in the attack."

Security forces arrived at the location of the incident and announced that they would launch a "full investigation" to find the perpetrators.

Crowds first took to the streets in early October 2019, to express long-held grievances about chronically inadequate public services, a low standard of living, and widespread institutional graft among government officials.

The last round of mass protests in late 2019 led to the resignation of the entire administration of former Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi, under whose watch members of the security forces and Iranian-backed militias were accused of killing over 600 demonstrators and wounding tens of thousands more.

Last August, the Iraqi government announced that 560 demonstrators and security personnel were killed during the protests in various cities in Iraq, including dozens of activists who were assassinated by unknown persons.

While the Iraqi government has taken responsibility for some of the killings, multiple credible allegations have been leveled at Iran-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) for many incidents involving dozens of deaths among protesters, many of which have also chanted against Tehran’s influence in Baghdad.

Since the fall of the former Baathist regime in 2003, anti-government demonstrations have been a common sight in Iraq, usually decrying what they see as an endemically corrupt political elite that has failed to address long-held grievances of a beleaguered public.

Editing by John J. Catherine