Man sentenced to death for murder of police chief’s son in Salah Al-Din

KIRKUK — A Kirkuk criminal court has sentenced who it says is a member of ISIS to death for the murder of Mutaz Abdul Wahab, son of the police chief of Sulaiman Bek in Salah Al-Din governorate, according to Iraq’s judiciary media center.

The court found that the assailant deliberately killed Abdul Wahab in front of his home last March to spread fear among local residents. “The terrorist killed the victim in front of his residence with the intent to spread terror and fear among people for terrorist purposes,” the judicial statement said.

The sentencing was issued under Articles 2 (1) and (3), in reference to Article 4 (1) of Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005.

The incident occurred on March 10, 2024, when unidentified gunmen disabled the private generator powering Abdul Wahab’s home in Kirkuk’s 55 District. When Abdul Wahab went outside to check the issue, he was fatally shot in the head.

On March 15, Kirkuk police announced the arrest of the assailant, who had fled to Baghdad after the killing. “On March 10, 2024, we received information about a murder in the Al-Zawra neighborhood,” Kirkuk Police said in a statement. “A team from the Kirkuk Crime Division, along with the Domiz Anti-Crime Unit, was dispatched to the scene, where the victim was identified as Sergeant Mutaz Abdul Wahab, son of Brigadier General Abdul Wahab al-Bayati, the Sulaiman Bek police chief. Within 24 hours, authorities identified the suspect as a Sulaiman Bek resident, who fled to Diyala and then to Baghdad. Through coordination with Baghdad’s security forces, the suspect was apprehended and confessed to his crime.”