Iraq state TV airs brief confession of suspect in killing of security expert

"The televised confessions lacked a clear indication of who ordered the assassination and why," wrote the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, a US-based think tank Hashimi worked for.

A still from a televised recording that appears to show a man confessing to the killing of late Iraqi security expert Hisham al-Hashimi. (Photo: Iraqi state TV)
A still from a televised recording that appears to show a man confessing to the killing of late Iraqi security expert Hisham al-Hashimi. (Photo: Iraqi state TV)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi state television on Friday broadcast what it described as the confessions of the person who assassinated prominent security expert Hisham al-Hashimi.

The telecast came after Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced earlier on Friday the arrest of the "killers" of Hashimi, who was assassinated on July 6, 2020, in front of his home in Baghdad.

Hashimi was among leading Iraqi analysts who advised the federal government on combatting terrorism and most recently became vocal against the growing influence of pro-Iran militias.

"Iraqi authorities have revealed the identity of the man allegedly behind the assassination of our colleague @hushamalhashimi. The televised confessions lacked a clear indication of who ordered the assassination and why," tweeted the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy.

"Husham and many other Iraqis targeted by the forces of chaos deserve nothing short of full justice," the US-based organization added.

The suspect, named Ahmed al-Kinani, born in 1985, said in the recorded confession that he is a first lieutenant at the interior ministry and began working there in 2007.

He also admitted that he belongs to an "outlaw group," likely a reference to Iran-aligned groups accused of mounting attacks on Iraqi protesters and activists, as well as US interests in the country.

Kinani did not reveal the group's name, who ordered him to kill Hashimi nor the motives behind it.

"We gathered in the al-Bu'aitha area and went with two bikes and a Corolla to a site in front of Hashimi's house to carry out the assassination," he detailed.

He noted that a person he did not name had assigned them roles to play in the assassination and handed them pistols. Kinani said he fired up to five shots at Hashimi with the firearm.

Bu'aitha, a small neighborhood in Baghdad's southern Dora district, from where the group of men gathered before heading to Hashimi's place of residence, is where a Kataib Hezbollah headquarters is located.

In June 2020, counter-terrorism forces raided that building and arrested 14 members of the firmly pro-Iran group on suspicion of involvement in conducting attacks targeting the capital's fortified Green Zone, including the US embassy.

Shortly after the arrests, members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization of largely Iran-backed militias, compelled the release of their fighters following a show-of-forces near the Green Zone.