Iraq presses Turkey over investigation into teenager’s killing

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s embassy in Ankara has submitted a formal note to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry as officials intensify efforts to follow the investigation into the killing of Iraqi teenager Bilal Alaa Muzahim, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The ministry said the embassy and Iraq’s Consulate General in Istanbul are monitoring the case and coordinating with Turkish authorities to determine the circumstances of Muzahim’s death and identify those responsible. Ambassador Majid al-Lajmawi told the victim’s father the government was “closely following the case” and had formally contacted Turkey’s Foreign Ministry. A consular delegation also visited the family to offer condolences. Consular officials met Turkish authorities, including the public prosecutor’s office and the investigations department at the Justice Palace in Yalova governorate, who Iraq said expressed full cooperation.

Muzahim, 17, the son of Mosul-based journalist Alaa al-Allaf, was found dead in Yalova in a case that has drawn wide attention in Iraq. According to his father, Bilal was lured by unidentified individuals to a forest where he was killed, while reports in Iraqi media said his body was found hanging in a wooded area. The family has described the circumstances as suspicious and called for a thorough investigation. Turkish authorities have not released final findings on the cause of death, and the investigation is ongoing.