Shafaq News – Baghdad

The killing of Baghdad Provincial Council member and election candidate Safaa al-Mashhadani last week is linked to electoral rivalry, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council disclosed on Thursday.

Al-Mashhadani, a candidate with the Sovereignty (Al-Siyada) Alliance for the upcoming parliamentary election on November 11, was killed on October 15 when an explosive device attached to his vehicle detonated in Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, injuring two of his companions.

According to a statement by the First Karkh Investigation Court, the investigating judge said two suspects confessed to committing the crime, confirming their direct involvement through technical evidence and analysis of surveillance camera footage.

The statement added that the attack was criminal in nature and that legal action has been taken against the suspects in accordance with Iraqi law.

Shafaq News obtained earlier the names of the detainees accused of assassinating al-Mashhadani. The suspects include Omar Muthanna Abdul-Munim al-Mashhadani, Mustafa Ahmed Salman al-Dulaimi, Hussein Farouq Abdul-Jabbar al-Janabi, Abdullah Abdul-Rahman al-Mashhadani, and Alaa Mohsen Abboud al-Mashhadani.

The Interior Ministry on October 21 announced the arrest of five main suspects. A security source said four others were later detained for assisting the perpetrators, while additional suspects remain under investigation.