Officer killing in Iraq’s Kirkuk ruled criminal, Interior Ministry says

Shafaq News – Kirkuk

The killing of a senior police officer in the northern city of Kirkuk was a criminal act carried out by fellow police personnel, the country’s Interior Ministry said on Friday.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said investigators concluded that the killing stemmed from “specific personal disputes,” ruling out terrorism or sectarian motives.

The ministry added that the suspects and the victim had previously been convicted in a joint forgery case and were released under Iraq’s recent General Amnesty Law.

Meanwhile, sources told Shafaq News that the main suspect, a police officer, later took his own life and was found inside the vehicle used in the attack. A second suspect, his brother, was arrested shortly afterward.

Authorities also detained a third brother who was present at the time of the arrest, along with other family members, including the suspects’ father, without clarifying the legal grounds for those detentions.

Earlier today, Colonel Zaid Adel Sabeeh, a senior officer in the Kirkuk police force, was shot and killed near his home in the Arafa area.