People’s Front rejects assassination plot claims following release of ‘confessions’ video

SULAYMANIYAH — The People’s Front on Wednesday rejected allegations by the Kurdistan Region Security Agency that its leader, Lahur Sheikh Jangi, was linked to an attempt to assassinate Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Bafel Talabani, dismissing a newly released “confessions” video as false.

In a statement, the party said: “Before we in the People’s Front reject the weak and misleading scenario of the new PUK and expose them as lies, the Kurdish people have already broadly refuted them on social media and in the media.”

The statement added: “This misleading scenario cannot cover up in any way the grave, disgusting and inhumane crime of August 22.”

On that day, heavy clashes in the Lalazar area lasted for hours, causing casualties on both sides and damaging nearby homes and vehicles. Security forces later surrounded the Lalezar Hotel before storming it and detaining Sheikh Jangi along with dozens of civilian and military associates.

The People’s Front called on the president of the Kurdistan Region, the KRG prime minister and the president of the Judicial Council to halt what it described as a “terrible and disgusting situation,” warning the actions could damage the region’s reputation internationally.

Sheikh Jangi, a cousin of Talabani and former co-chair of the PUK, was removed from the party in 2021 and later founded the People’s Front, which won two seats in the 2024 Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections.