Safaa Al-Mashhadani, a member of the Baghdad Governorate Council and parliamentary candidate, is pictured in an undated photo. Al-Mashhadani was killed in a car bombing in the Tarmiyah district north of Baghdad on Oct. 15, 2025.
Iraqi court issues death sentence for assassin of Baghdad councilor Safaa Al-Mashhadani
BAGHDAD — The Karkh Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced the convicted killer of Baghdad Governorate Council member Safaa al-Mashhadani to death and life imprisonment over a car bombing that killed the politician in the Tarmiyah district north of the capital, according to the Supreme Judicial Council.
In a statement, the council said the court issued a death sentence after finding that the convict planted an explosive device under al-Mashhadani’s vehicle, killing him on Oct. 15, 2025, in Tarmiyah.
The court also handed down a second sentence of life imprisonment for attempting to kill four other people who were with al-Mashhadani at the time of the attack. The council said those victims survived due to medical intervention. That ruling was also issued under Article 406 of the penal code.
Al-Mashhadani, also known as Safaa al-Hijazi, was a member of the Baghdad Governorate Council and a parliamentary candidate running under the Al-Siyada Alliance in the Nov. 11 elections when he was killed. A sticky bomb planted under his SUV exploded in the Hay al-Dhubbat area of Tarmiyah, killing him and wounding four others, according to the Baghdad Operations Command.
The assassination drew widespread political condemnation and raised fears of a resurgence of targeted violence during the election period. Then-Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani described the killing as “a cowardly terrorist act that targeted a national and social figure,” while the Al-Siyada Alliance called it “a continuation of the exclusion and treachery practiced by lawless armed groups,” holding security authorities responsible for what it described as a serious breach.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered the formation of a joint forensic team and a high-level investigative committee under the supervision of the Baghdad Operations Command to investigate the killing. On Oct. 22, the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of five suspects accused of involvement in the attack following intelligence and field operations carried out under judicial warrants.