Unknown attackers throw grenade at police chief’s house in Kirkuk
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A vehicle caught on surveillance cameras tossed a hand grenade at police chief's house in Kirkuk on Monday night.
Shaho Farhad Mahmood, the eldest son of Brig. Gen Farhad Mahmood, chief of the Azadi Neighborhood Police Station in Kirkuk told Rudaw that this was the second death threat made against his father by unknown attackers.
"Fortunately, the hand grenade did not result in any fatalities, but just left material damages," Shaho said.
The video shows a person in a Ford SUV tossing a grenade into Farhad's courtyard while driving at a high speed.
"They apparently wanted to kill my father," he said, adding security forces have begun an investigation into the attack.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces lost control of Kirkuk in October 2017 after a takeover of the city and most disputed forces by Iraqi forces supported by Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias and militias.
"After October events of 2017, in a similar attempt, they threw a 40 millimeter grenade at our house," he explained.
Kurdish police officers in Kirkuk are frequently targeted with death threats.
Over the weekend a Kurdish policeman named Salah Mohammed was killed by a Hashd al-Shaabi official in Kirkuk.
Mohammed is survived by five children.
Police said they have issued an arrest warrant for the murderer, but he has fled the city.
The Iraqi military and Hashd have also been targeted by ISIS remnants. The Security Media Center of the Joint Operations Command announced in January that Brigade 61 — directly under the command of Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi — will replace Iraqi Counterterrorism Forces which have been stationed in Kirkuk.
The Ministry of Peshmerga has announced that they are in the midst of planning joint patrols with the Iraqi Army in several disputed areas. Kirkuk acting Governor Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri said he knew nothing of an agreement to redeploy Peshmerga to the city.
Reporting by Aso Sarawi