A vehicle belonging to State of Law Coalition candidate Amjad al-Lami shows shattered windows and bullet holes after an assassination attempt in Umm Qasr, Basra Governorate, early Wednesday.
'Miraculous'
State of Law election candidate survives assassination attempt in Basra’s Umm Qasr
BASRA — State of Law Coalition candidate Amjad al-Lami survived an apparent assassination attempt early Wednesday after unidentified gunmen opened fire on his vehicle as he returned home from his office on Al-Shuhada Street in Umm Qasr, according to his office manager.
Ishaq Hanoun, al-Lami’s office manager, told 964media that “candidate Amjad al-Lami survived an assassination attempt early Wednesday after being targeted with a barrage of bullets while returning from his office to his home on Al-Shuhada Street in Umm Qasr near the symbolic graves.”
Hanoun said a Tahoe-type vehicle had been monitoring al-Lami’s movements for two days, appearing repeatedly near his usual routes. “At the moment of the attack, another vehicle suddenly intercepted him and fired several live rounds directly at him in an attempt to take his life,” he said.
Al-Lami “survived miraculously after bullets pierced his vehicle without causing physical injuries,” Hanoun said. The attackers fled to an unknown location before security forces arrived at the scene.
A police report from the Umm Qasr Police Center confirmed that al-Lami, born in 1985 and employed by the Basra Oil Company, filed a complaint at 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 29. He told police that individuals in a Toyota Crown without license plates opened fire on him near the symbolic graves opposite the Umm Qasr nursery while he was driving his white Toyota Camry. Investigators found bullet damage on the driver’s side window but no injuries. The report said the case had been referred for investigation.
Photos obtained by 964media show a white sedan with shattered side windows and visible bullet holes in the door. A campaign poster bearing al-Lami’s image is displayed on the vehicle’s rear windshield.
The attack came a week after Baghdad Governorate Council member and parliamentary candidate Safaa Al-Hijazi, also known as Safaa Al-Mashhadani, was killed when a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded in Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad. The Interior Ministry later announced the arrest of five suspects in coordination with the Popular Mobilization Forces’ security branch, saying the operation followed extensive intelligence work and judicial warrants.
