BAGHDAD: Armed gunmen opened fire early Saturday on the office of an Iraqi parliamentary candidate south of Baghdad, wounding two bodyguards.
A security source confirmed the attack targeted Sunni Muslim politician Muthanna al-Azzawi’s office in Yusufiyah, 25 kilometres south of the capital.
This assault occurred just days after a bomb killed another candidate preparing for the November 11 elections for Iraq’s Shiite-majority parliament.
The attackers fled the scene following the shooting incident according to the security source.
Azzawi serves as a member of the Baghdad provincial council and belongs to the centrist Sunni coalition known as the Azem Alliance.
The candidate strongly condemned what he described as a cowardly attack on his Facebook page.
Azzawi declared these violent acts would not prevent him from continuing to serve his people.
He added that the attackers would face punishment for their actions sooner or later.
A separate bomb attack killed fellow Baghdad provincial council member Safaa al-Mashhadani on Wednesday.
That explosion occurred under Mashhadani’s car north of Baghdad and also wounded three of his bodyguards.
Mashhadani was running with the Sovereignty Alliance, one of Iraq’s largest Sunni Muslim coalitions.
The Sovereignty Alliance condemned the killing as a cowardly crime and extension of exclusion politics.
They accused forces of uncontrolled weapons and terrorism of targeting free national voices.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into Mashhadani’s killing and demanded arrests.
Most of Iraq’s 329 lawmakers represent Shiite parties that maintain alignment with neighbouring Iran.
The upcoming elections mark the sixth parliamentary vote since the 2003 US-led invasion.
Iraq’s political system traditionally allocates the prime minister role to a Shiite Muslim.
The presidency typically goes to a Kurd while the parliament speaker position is usually held by a Sunni. – AFP
