Gunmen kills imam of mosque in Sulaymaniyah
Representational photo.
“Unknown gunmen opened fire on Friday at noon against imam of al-Rahman mosque, al-Sheikh Ahmed Deiri, as he was leaving the mosque, located in Qal’et Duza district, north of Sulaymaniyah, causing his immediate death,” Ribawar Hamad, spokesperson of the group, told AlSumaria News.
“Deiri has been in charge of the Islamic scholars at the Kurdistan Islamic Group,” Hamad added.
Despite being stable, violent incidents occasionally occurs at Sulaymaniyah.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Bombings and armed attacks are seen on on almost a daily basis against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016.
More than 700 Iraqis were killed and wounded during the month of June as result of violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) which excludes security members deaths. Baghdad ranked the second place with 22 deaths and 88 injuries.
According to a previous count by UNAMI, 824 Iraqis were killed and wounded during the month of May.