Justice Minister Khalid Shwani unhurt in Baghdad highway collision

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s justice minister, Khalid Shwani, escaped injury after the government vehicle he was driving was struck from behind on Baghdad’s al-Qadisiyah Expressway toward Baghdad International Airport, a security source told 964media on Tuesday.

The overnight collision damaged both vehicles and the highway’s safety barrier but caused no injuries, the source said. A traffic investigation found the other driver fully responsible for the crash, and the driver was detained under routine legal procedures because the minister’s car is government-owned.

Shwani said there was “no need for repairs” and offered to cover the cost of repairing both vehicles if necessary, the source said.

Kurdish lawmaker Mazin Gharib confirmed on Facebook that the minister was safe, posting photographs with Shwani and writing that after the accident in Baghdad’s al-Qadisiyah area, “Thank God, Dr. Khalid Shwani, the Minister of Justice, is safe.”