Safaa Al-Hijazi, Baghdad Provincial Council member and parliamentary candidate for the November 11 election on the Al-Siyada Alliance
Interior Ministry arrests five suspects in killing of Baghdad council member Safaa Al-Hijazi
BAGHDAD — The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that its forces, in coordination with the Popular Mobilization Forces’ security branch, arrested five suspects accused of involvement in the killing of Baghdad Governorate Council member and parliamentary candidate Safaa Al-Hijazi, also known as Safaa Al-Mashhadani.
In a statement, the ministry said, “A force from the Interior Ministry, in coordination with the Popular Mobilization Forces’ security, carried out precise operations that led to the arrest of five suspects involved in the martyrdom of Baghdad Governorate Council member Safaa Al-Mashhadani, which took place in the Tarmiyah district north of the capital.”
It said the operation was carried out under judicial arrest warrants following “extensive intelligence and field efforts and ongoing investigations that led to locating and properly arresting the suspects.” The statement added that investigations are continuing “under judicial supervision,” and that details will be released after legal procedures are complete.
Al-Hijazi was killed on Oct. 15 when a sticky bomb placed under his SUV exploded in the Hay Al-Dhubbat neighborhood of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, injuring four others in the vehicle, according to the Baghdad Operations Command.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani ordered the formation of a joint forensic team and a high-level committee under the supervision of the Baghdad Operations Commander to investigate what his office called “the martyrdom of candidate Safaa Al-Mashhadani.”
Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani condemned the assassination as “a cowardly terrorist act that targeted a national and social figure,” and said the Council of Representatives would also form its own investigative committee.
The Al-Siyada Alliance, the Sunni political bloc under which Al-Hijazi was running in the Nov. 11 parliamentary election, described the killing as “a continuation of the exclusion and treachery practiced by lawless armed groups,” and held security authorities responsible for what it called “a serious breach.”
MP Aisha Ghazal Al-Masari warned the attack could mark a return to “darker periods of political violence.” She said, “The return of assassinations rings alarm bells for the security of Baghdad after a period of calm and stability. Those criminals are once again trying to sow chaos and insecurity and target every sincere national voice.”