ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gunmen in military uniform killed a family in the Samarra district of Salahaddin province, Iraqi security officials announced on Wednesday. Several suspects have been arrested.
“A number of gunmen in military uniform ransacked a house… and killed every family member,” Kawa Shekhani, security advisor to Salahaddin’s governor, told Rudaw.
The seven victims include the children and mother. According to Shekhani, the father and grandfather of the family were killed by gunmen in 2021.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell confirmed on X that several suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.
The incident occurred in the al-Abbassiya sub-district of Samarra in Salahaddin province. The suspects who have been arrested are also from al-Abbassiya, according to Shekhani.
Samarra, with a population of approximately 200,000 and located 124 km north of Baghdad, is one of the largest cities in Salahaddin governorate.
Gun ownership is widespread in Iraq and firearms can be purchased on the black market. Both the federal and the Kurdistan Regional Government have introduced measures to try and limit the number of illegal guns in the country.
Nahro Mohammed and Hastyar Qadir contributed to this report.
