BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Unidentified armed men have attacked the house of a fighter from anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’abi in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad, killing five members of his family and seriously injuring him.
The assailants targeted the house of Ahmed Abdul-Muttalib al-Malef area west of Baghdad on Thursday evening.
“The gunmen opened fire on family members who were inside the house, killing five of them and seriously injuring the PMU member. He was transferred to a hospital in Baghdad, while the bodies of the victims were transferred to the forensic department,” Hashd al-Sha’abi said in a statement.
Iraqi security forces have launched an investigation into the incident.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the deadly attack, but such assaults bear the hallmark of remnants of the Daesh terrorist group.
On Friday, Ammar Hakim, Iraqi Shia cleric and head of National Wisdom Movement (Hikma), condemned Thursday’s armed attack in Baghdad and the massacre of family members of the Hashd al-Sha’abi fighter.
Hakim deplored the heinous act, especially the killing of children, and warned against repetition of such incidents.
The senior cleric also called for increased security measures in order to save the lives of ordinary people.
Hashd al-Sh’abai (PMU) fighters have played a major role in the liberation of Daesh-held areas to the south, northeast and north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, ever since the terrorists launched an offensive in the country in June 2014.
Back in November 2016, the Iraqi parliament approved a law giving full legal status to the PMU fighters. It recognized the PMU as part of the national armed forces, placed the forces under the command of the prime minister, and granted them the right to receive salaries and pensions like the regular army and police forces.