Shafaq News – Baghdad

A gunman opened fire near the campaign office of a Sadiqoun bloc candidate in southwestern Baghdad on Wednesday, a security source told Shafaq News.

According to the source, the shooter, riding a motorized rickshaw (tuktuk), fired several rounds into the air outside the office in the Hay al-Amil district before fleeing. No injuries were reported.

The Sadiqoun bloc, which represents the Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement led by Qais al-Khazali, holds 15 seats out of 329. The bloc is part of the Shiite Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly pro-Iran parties that formed the current government under Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

The incident adds to a growing wave of violence targeting candidates ahead of Iraq’s November 11 parliamentary elections, in which about 30 million Iraqis are eligible to vote, but nearly seven million will likely be unable to participate due to outdated voter registration data.

Earlier this month, Baghdad Provincial Council member and election candidate Safaa al-Mashhadani was assassinated — a killing Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council attributed to electoral rivalry. In Nineveh, unknown assailants also set fire to the campaign office of lawmaker Mahma Khalil Ali Agha in the Sinjar district.

The al-Azm Alliance, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, warned that armed groups are targeting candidates to sow fear and disrupt the vote. The bloc called on Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to strengthen security measures for campaign events and polling centers.