Shafaq News – Baghdad (Updated on Sep.13 at 8:07)

Iraqi security forces arrested suspects in the killing of a Sunni religious figure at a mosque in southern Baghdad, the Interior Ministry announced on Friday.

The ministry confirmed that investigations are ongoing into the death of Sheikh Abdul Karim al-Qarghouli, imam of Karim al-Nasser Mosque in the Dora district, and pledged to release further details later.

The Joint Operations Command formed a committee into the imam's death under the direction of the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. It will be led by Baghdad Operations Command, with members from the Interior Ministry and the National Security Service.

A security source told Shafaq News that al-Qarghouli died of cardiac arrest after a dispute with worshippers during Friday prayers.

The Sunni Endowment denounced the killing as a “cowardly criminal act,” while parliamentarian Nihal al-Shammari accused the Endowment’s leadership of negligence, describing it as a factor behind the “horrific” incident.