ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A politician affiliated with the former speaker of the Iraqi parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi’s party on Saturday attacked the house of an Arab member of Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk’s Dibis district. The army has made several arrests in relation to the incident.
According to the family and local officials, Muhaiman al-Hamdani, who secured a seat during the November 11 parliamentary elections on the ticket of Halbousi’s Takaddum Front, arrived at the house of Zeravani Peshmerga member Ahmed al-Khalaf with several armed guards. Khalaf, who was not at home during the attack, said the assault followed threats Hamdani had posted on Facebook, including: “Why didn't you vote for me? You're a mercenary of the Kurds.” Khalaf said he believes he was targeted “because I am a Zeravani Peshmerga.”
The Zeravani forces operate under the Kurdistan Regional Government’s interior ministry. The force on Sunday condemned the attack, vowing to take legal measures against the politician.
Takaddum Front captured the largest share of Sunni votes in the Iraqi federal elections on Tuesday. The party garnered 107,016 votes in Kirkuk according to results from the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), the second largest after the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) at 178,629 votes.
According to Khalaf and his family, Hamdani’s men opened fire on the house and his car, assaulted his mother, his wife, and other relatives, and seized their mobile phones. Rudaw footage from the scene shows dozens of bullet holes on the upper floor of the house and significant damage to the car in the courtyard. A military officer who tried to intervene was also beaten.
Khalaf’s mother said Hamdani’s group tried to kidnap one of her sons. She said they attempted to force her grandson, Mu’ayyad, into a car trunk while beating her and other family members.
“Muhaiman also kept beating me,” she said, adding that the attackers put a pistol to Mu’ayyad’s head before she intervened. “I put the pistol on my own chest,” she said, describing how neighbors and relatives eventually managed to pull Mu’ayyad away from the attackers.
Mu’ayyad said the attackers declared that “Here I am the state. I am above everyone,” before beating an Iraqi army officer, Captain Mohammed Rashid, who attempted to stop them. The family has filed multiple complaints, including at the Daquq police station. Security forces have visited the house and collected bullet casings.
Rudaw has learned that following the attack, Hamdani retreated with armed men into the Takaddum office in Dibis. Iraqi army units surrounded the building, and at least four of Hamdani’s guards later surrendered. Hamdani eventually handed himself over after a standoff.
Rudaw reached out to Hamdani but he was not immediately available for a comment.
Residents gathered outside the Peshmerga’s home in solidarity after the incident. Khalaf said no authorities have offered protection since the attack and that armed guards loyal to Hamdani continue moving around the neighborhood.
“There is no one to protect us. There is no state,” he said. “If a parliamentarian does this, is there a state? No, there isn’t. The poor have no one except God.”
The Iraqi army visited the Peshmerga member’s house late Friday to apologize for the incident.
Police have arrested seven of Hamdani's guards so far, police told Rudaw early Sunday. Hours later the Security Media Cell confirmed the arrests in a statement.
"A joint security force from the Kirkuk Operations Command and Police, under the follow-up of the Joint Operations Command, executed an arrest warrant against seven individuals accused of assaulting a family in the province, where they stormed their home and opened fire, also attempting to kidnap one of their sons," the cell said.
"The executing force clarified that the assault was carried out by the protection detail of lawmaker Muhannad al-Hamdani, and it also included an assault on an army officer who attempted to intervene to prevent the incident," it added.