Shafaq News/ A family was brutally murdered in Samarra’s al-Abbasiyah district on Wednesday, just a year after the father’s assassination, according to a local security source.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that the father of the family, who was the headman of a residential area in al-Abbasiyah, was killed last year. Today, his entire family was executed.

Saladin Governor Bader al-Fahl, in a statement to Shafaq News Agency, confirmed the incident and said he ordered a probe into its circumstances.

Al-Fahl emphasized that all parties must fully comply with the necessary legal procedures to allow the investigative committee formed for this purpose to conduct a professional and thorough investigation. He called on the media and social media users to avoid rumors and await the results of the investigation.

Earlier in the day, an Iraqi police source told Shafaq News Agency that "armed men wearing military uniforms opened fire on six members of a family after storming their home in the al-Abbasiyah area of Samarra, killing them instantly. The attackers fled to an unknown location." 

According to the source, the victims were five siblings – four males and one female – and their mother. The security forces are still searching for the perpetrators, who confirmed the crime as criminal in nature.

A security source, speaking to Shafaq News Agency, indicated that three suspects in the killing of the family in Samarra had been arrested, noting that the arrest took place on the outskirts of Samarra.