Two killed, three wounded in tribal shooting in northern Basra

BASRA — Two people were killed and three wounded Saturday when gunmen opened fire on several houses in the Khameesa area of Ezzedine Salim district following a tribal dispute, a security source said.

Security forces headed to the scene, imposed a cordon and began searching for the attackers, who fled.

The incident is the latest in a series of tribal clashes across Iraq. In August, four people were wounded when gunfire erupted during a wedding in Basra’s Hartha area. In July, six people were killed and five injured during an armed confrontation inside a pilgrim service tent in Abu al-Khaseeb district, Basra, stemming from a family feud. In June, police arrested 10 people following a tribal clash in Basra’s Tamimiya neighborhood.

Outside Basra, a tribal clash in Baghdad’s Rusafa district in September left two federal police officers dead when gunmen fired on responding forces. Two brothers were shot dead in a family dispute in Kirkuk’s Dibis district the same month. Earlier in 2025, a man was killed in Abu Ghraib over tribal land and another was shot dead in Dhi Qar in what sources described as a revenge attack.

Such attacks, known as “dakka,” involve gunfire or armed intimidation targeting homes to pressure rival families. The Interior Ministry has classified them as crimes under Iraq’s anti-terrorism law, with those detained referred for prosecution.