Iraqi security denies news on attacking parl’t candidate, policemen in Diyala
Security forces defend their headquarters against attacks by Islamic State during sand storm in Ramadi. (AP Photo)
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi security authorities denied on Tuesday media reports about an attack against a parliamentary candidate and three policemen in Diyala governorate.
In a statement, the Iraqi security media council termed as “baseless” all reports about the targeting of a parliamentary candidate’s house and injury of three policemen, including a colonel, in al-Muqdadiyah district in Diyala.
The center called on Iraqi media outlets to seek accuracy before publishing any news that could hinder Iraq’s security and spread anarchy in the country.
On Monday, unidentified gunmen had stormed the house of parliamentary candidate Farouq Mohamed Zarzour at al-Lazaka village in southern Mosul and killed him before fleeing the scene into an unknown location. Later in the day, the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for his assassination.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence earlier in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by the US-led international coalition, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.