Iraqi Sunni politician, three sons killed
24 November, 2005
BAGHDAD: Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms burst into the home of a Sunni Arab sheikh on Wednesday, killing him, three of his sons and a son-in-law in what police believe may have been aimed at discouraging Sunnis from participating in next month’s election.
Khadim Sarhid al-Hemaiyem, who lived on the outskirts of Baghdad, was the leader of a branch of the Dulaimi tribe, one of the biggest in Iraq. His brother is a candidate in the Dec 15 parliamentary election, three of his sons had been policemen and another son was slain last month north of the capital, police and family members said.
Police said they suspected the sheikh’s death was designed as a warning to Sunni Arabs against heeding the US call. However, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a hardline Sunni organisation believed to have links to some insurgent groups, also condemned the slayings, linking them to what many Sunnis fear is a campaign against them by the Shia-led government security services. "We warn the government against continuing with this tyranny," association spokesman Abdul Salam al-Kubaisi said. However, police Maj Falah al-Mohammedawi denied that the government forces were involved in the deaths of the sheikh and his relatives and blamed the insurgents.
|
