KIRKUK: Extremists have killed three village chiefs in less than a week in Iraq’s restive north, local officials said Saturday, as the targeting of state representatives escalates.
Iraq declared victory against the Daesh group last year, but small extremist cells still wage attacks, especially in mountainous areas like the northern province of Kirkuk.
There, Daesh has attacked state infrastructure and government officials, especially targeting local administrative heads known as “mukhtars.”
The latest victim, on Friday night, was mukhtar of the village of Mahmudiya near the town of Hawija.
The town has long been a bastion of radical Muslim groups and was one of the last Daesh holdouts retaken by government troops last year.
Mahmudiya mukhtar “Abdallah Al-Wasmi was executed by Daesh members who attacked his home,” a local security official told AFP.
His death followed the similar killing of the mukhtar of a nearby village, Hanutiya, late Wednesday.
And on Monday, a provincial official told AFP that “Daesh fighters attacked the home of Mohammad Jumaa, the mukhtar of the village of Jassemiya,” also near Hawija.
“They took him out of his house and executed him in front of it before fleeing,” the official said.
The recent killings bring to nine the number of village chieftains executed by Daesh in the past seven months in Kirkuk province.
Daesh kills 3 Iraq village chiefs in a week
Daesh kills 3 Iraq village chiefs in a week
- Daesh has attacked state infrastructure and government officials, especially targeting local administrative heads known as “mukhtars”
- The latest victim, on Friday night, was mukhtar of the village of Mahmudiya near the town of Hawija
UN chief condemns Israeli law blocking electricity, water for UNRWA facilities
- The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a move by Israel to ban electricity or water to facilities owned by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, a UN spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move would “further impede” the agency’s ability to operate and carry out activities.
“The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), its property and assets, and to its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said while adding that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the world body.
UNRWA Commissioner General Phillipe Lazzarini also condemned the move, saying that it was part of an ongoing “ systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” the role it plays in providing assistance to Palestinian refugees.
In 2024, the Israeli parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and prohibiting officials from having contact with the agency.
As a result, UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, which the UN considers territory occupied by Israel. Israel considers all Jerusalem to be part of the country.
The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded, with its responsibilities transferred to other UN agencies.
The prohibition of basic utilities to the UN agency came as Israel also suspended of dozens of international non-governmental organizations working in Gaza due to a failure to meet new rules to vet those groups.
In a joint statement, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom said on Tuesday such a move would have a severe impact on the access of essential services, including health care. They said one in three health care facilities in Gaza would close if international NGO operations stopped.
