ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil police said on Wednesday that a social dispute in Khabat district escalated into gunfire, leaving two people dead, adding that two suspects have been detained in connection with the incident.
“Following a social dispute, an individual opened fire, resulting in the killing of two individuals this evening in Rizgari subdistrict,” Erbil police said in a late Wednesday statement, noting that the two suspects have “confessed to the crime.”
The incident occurred after worshippers had performed Taraweeh prayers - special voluntary prayers performed every night during Ramadan - at a mosque in Rizgari, also known as Topzawa, affiliated with Khabat district.
One of the victims was identified as Zuhair Mustafa, a Peshmerga fighter. Eyewitnesses and family members said he was not involved in the dispute and had attempted to mediate between two brothers who were fighting.