Two suspects in murder of Yezidi philanthropist arrested in Baghdad: mayor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Two suspects were arrested Friday night in Baghdad in connection with the murder of a Yezidi businessman and philanthropist, according to a local official. 

"Following precise monitoring, security forces managed to locate the whereabouts of two of the criminals in Baghdad," Lara Zara, mayor of Alqosh, told Rudaw on Saturday.

"Following coordination between security forces and the Nineveh investigative terror-related court, with the military and security agencies in Baghdad, two of the murderers were arrested on Friday night," Zara said.

Bashir Hussein Gorya, 46, was shot last week as he drove home from the funeral of Yezidi spiritual leader Baba Sheikh Khurto Hajji Ismail in Shekhan, Nineveh province.

Shekhan, a predominantly Yezidi town administered by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is 23 kilometers from Alqosh, which is administered by the Iraqi government.

Officials have not identified the two arrested on Friday, nor given information on a possible motive for the killing. 

Gorya, a father-of-two, was from the village of Mushrafiya in Alqosh. He funded projects for Yezidi survivors of the Islamic State (ISIS) genocide, including an orphanage for children who lost their parents in the war with ISIS.