At least 2 killed in Kirkuk fighting

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least two people were killed and three others wounded in a Thursday evening armed clash in Kirkuk province, a security source told Rudaw.

"At 5:40 pm today, Thursday, several Badoiun people [from] the Shammar [tribe] got into a fight among themselves and used weapons, two of them were killed, and three others were wounded," a Kirkuk police source said on the condition of anonymity.

The incident happened in Dibis district, in northwestern Kirkuk province.

The source added that "These are settler Arabs from Palkana village in Sargaran [district]. The cause of the fighting remains unclear, but two of the wounded are in a serious condition."

According to Rudaw’s information, the clash stemmed from an old enmity.

Footage submitted to Rudaw shows bodies of the dead and wounded lying in the streets of Dibis as police arrived at the scene and began an investigation.


Mohammed Jassim Kakai, head of the security and defense committee in the Nineveh Provincial Council, told Rudaw earlier in the day that interior ministry figures show Duhok province has the lowest crime rate in Iraq, followed by Nineveh. He said the ministry provides monthly reports to provincial councils to keep them informed, but the information is not released publicly.

Kakai noted that the highest crime levels are recorded in southern provinces, much of it fueled by tribal clashes and narcotics-related violence. Kirkuk is located in the north.