Tribal clash in Baghdad leaves two federal police dead

BAGHDAD — Two federal police officers were killed and five others wounded when security forces came under fire while responding to a tribal dispute in Baghdad’s Rusafa district, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.

The ministry said the officers were “martyred during their sacred duty to resolve a tribal conflict that broke out Saturday evening in the Saada area near the gas plant in Rusafa.”

Armed men opened fire on the responding force, the statement said. “The security force responded to the sources of fire with the aim of arresting the perpetrators,” it added. Two attackers were killed, five others injured, and six suspects arrested.

Security forces continue to carry out search and raid operations in surrounding neighborhoods, according to the ministry.

“The Interior Ministry affirms that the blood of the heroic martyrs will not go in vain,” the statement read. “The law will be applied firmly, and we will strike with an iron hand anyone who dares to target security personnel or threaten community peace.”

The ministry pledged to pursue those responsible “until the last moment” and described the crackdown as a deterrent against tribal conflicts and armed violence.

In April, a tribal clash in northern Basra’s Al-Madina district injured two police officers and a woman when rival factions exchanged fire.