ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two members of Kirkuk’s emergency police were killed in clashes between supporters of two political parties on the eve of Iraq’s parliamentary elections, the head of the provincial council said Tuesday. The Iraqi interior ministry said the incident occurred in front of a parliamentary candidate’s headquarters and that 14 people were arrested in connection with the case.
“We mourn the martyrdom of two heroes of the emergency Police in Kirkuk province, who were martyred while performing their duty in maintaining security and order, as a result of a quarrel that broke out between two supporters of two [political] parties,” Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh, the Kirkuk provincial council chief, said in a statement early Tuesday.
He added that security authorities have been directed to launch “an urgent and comprehensive investigation” into the incident.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry later confirmed in a statement that two officers were killed in front of a “headquarters belonging to one of the candidates” following a dispute that escalated into “an armed assault by a candidate’s guards” around 2 a.m.
The ministry added that fourteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The violence broke out in a neighborhood along the road to Baghdad and later spread toward the northern Rahimawa and northeastern Shorija areas, according to Rudaw’s correspondent Hiwa Hussamaddin. Counterterrorism units and the Iraqi army were deployed to restore order, and the situation was later brought under control.
Rudaw understands the confrontation began as a fistfight before escalating into an exchange involving stones and live ammunition. Police initially struggled to contain the unrest, prompting the intervention of counterterrorism and army forces.
Sources told Rudaw that six people were arrested on charges of opening fire. Police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
Hussamaddin reported that two civilians were seriously injured in the clashes, which he says took place between Kurdish and Turkmen political party supporters.
The incident occurred just hours before polls officially opened across Iraq on Tuesday for parliamentary elections, in which over 21 million people are eligible to vote.
Updated at 10:50 pm.