Security

Iraqi activist survives assassination attempt in Wasit

Local media reported that Qassem al-Tamimi was seriously wounded and was quickly taken to a nearby hospital after the gunmen targeting him fled the scene.

Mustafa Shilani 2021/08/08 20:40

Qassim Bahloul al-Tamimi (Right), in Wasit protests holding a sign of assassinated activists Ihab al-Wazni with the question “Who Killed me.” (Photo: social media)

Iraq Iraq Demonstrations Activists Assassination

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Unknown gunmen targeted Iraqi activist Qassem Bahloul al-Tamimi in central Kut city, Wasit province, local media and Iraqi activists reported Sunday.

Early reports claim that Tamimi, a leading activist in Wasit's anti-government demonstrations, was seriously wounded in what appears to have been an assassination attempt.

Iraqi media said the gunmen fled the scene and that the activist was quickly evacuated to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The attempt on Tamimi's life comes a month after widespread protests demanded an end to impunity for groups behind the targeting of activists and journalists in Iraq.

Protests erupted in central and southern Iraq in late 2019, demanding an end to corruption and unemployment and the provision of basic services.

The demonstrations resulted in the killing of at least 600 people, including members of the security forces, according to Amnesty International.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) documented 48 incidents of attempted assassinations of protesters between October 1, 2019, and May 15, 2021.

Iran-backed militias, including factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces, are widely blamed for the assassinations of protesters. At least 20 protesters kidnapped by suspected militias aligned with Tehran reportedly remain missing.

Last May, anti-government activist Ihab al-Wazni was killed in an armed attack in the city of Karbala.

Al-Wazni, who was the head of the protest coordination in Karbala, was known as one of the most prominent voices against corruption, mismanagement of the state, and calling for limiting the influence of Iran and armed groups in the holy Shia city.

Wazni had previously survived an assassination attempt in December 2019.

In July 2020, unidentified gunmen assassinated the highly respected Iraqi security analyst and researcher, Dr. Hisham al-Hashimi, in front of his house.

Exactly a year later, the Iraqi authorities announced the arrest of Hashimi's killers, and their confessions were later broadcast on state television.

During the confessions, a person named Ahmed Hamdawi al-Kanani appeared as the main suspect in the assassination and has been a police officer with the rank of first lieutenant in Iraq’s Ministry of Interior since 2007.