“They were three people. We have been able to identify two of them. One of them is Faruq Khazi … and the other is Hunar Abdulkarim. They are both cousins,” said Tariq Nuri, director of Erbil Asayesh, in a press conference on Sunday.
Fars Mohammed, head of the commission’s administration office and a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was shot dead in his car near Family Mall in Erbil after returning from work on April 24. He had been pursued by the perpetrators.
Fars Mohammed was shot dead in Erbil on Tuesday. Photo: Facebook
Nuri claimed the killing was the result of a family feud dating back to December 5, 2017, when Supa Salih, a nephew of Fars, was shot in front of his home by Barzi Ghazi, dying in hospital three days later.
Barzi fled to Istanbul, where he was killed by three attackers – a Kurd and two Arabs. The perpetrators were arrested by Turkish police in Istanbul, Nuri said.
The family of Barzi believed Supa’s family was responsible for the killing. Therefore they sought revenge by killing Fars, the Asayesh official claimed.
The Asayesh published photos of three suspects and appealed for the public’s help finding them. They are thought to have fled Erbil.
Saadi Pira, a spokesperson for the PUK, slammed the Erbil Asayesh following the incident for their “early judgment” in deeming the issue a “family feud.”
Nuri said the Asayesh stands by its initial line of inquiry into possible motives, and criticized Pira for failing to solve the dispute before it escalated, “since both families are affiliated to PUK.” He echoed the claims of Erbil police chief Abdulkhaliq Talaat, who told Rudaw on Tuesday the killing was not linked to the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary election.
