Colonel Zaid Adel Subaih Jirjis, a senior Assyrian police officer, was shot and killed on Friday, December 19, near his home in the Arafa area of Kirkuk.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry said the killing was a criminal act carried out by fellow police personnel. In a statement, the ministry said investigators determined that the shooting stemmed from specific personal disputes, ruling out terrorism or sectarian motives.
According to the ministry, both the victim and the suspects had previously been convicted in a joint forgery case and were released under Iraq’s recent General Amnesty Law.
Sources told local news outlets that the main suspect, a police officer, later took his own life and was found inside the vehicle used in the attack. A second suspect, his brother, was arrested shortly afterward.
Authorities also detained a third brother who was present at the time of the arrest, as well as other family members including the suspects’ father. The legal grounds for these detentions were not immediately clarified.
Colonel Zaid Jirjis is survived by his wife and three children.
