Political Violence Intensifies Ahead of Iraq’s Provincial Elections

"As election day draws closer in Iraq, violence aimed at influencing the outcome is increasing. The past week saw at least seven assassination attempts against major political figures, two of them successful. This represents an increase in the number of attempts, compared to three in the week before and also three the week before that. In perhaps the most significant incident, a candidate from Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s party, Hashem Al-Husseini, was shot dead in an ambush south of Baghdad. Hashem had been seeking a seat on the provincial council of Babil. Hassan Zaidan Al-Lihebi, deputy head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Party, was killed in the rural area of Gayyara near Mosul. A gunman shot his way into Hassan’s house then blew himself up, killing the former Major General and injuring several election candidates who were in the room with him. Other political figures experienced near misses, including both the Minister of Higher Education and his deputy."
Iraq Tomorrow