4 drunken men pretending to be pro-govt fighters shoot policeman dead in Mosul
Security forces defend their headquarters against attacks by Islamic State during sand storm in Ramadi. (AP Photo)
Nineveh (Iraqinews.com) – Four drunken men pretending to be members of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) have shot a policeman dead in Mosul city, a security source from Nineveh province was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alghad Press website on Wednesday, the source said, “Four drunken men had an accident in Mosul’s eastern side after their car collided with another, prompting security forces to rush to the site.”
“Once the force arrived at the scene, the four men fired several shots in the air but one of them, unfortunately, hit a policeman, leaving him dead,” said the source.
He added that a security force “managed to arrest the four, who pretended to be members of al-Hashd al-Shaabi.”
Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an alliance of volunteer Shia paramilitary forces, had actively backed the Iraqi government’s military campaign against Islamic State since 2014, when they were formed upon a top Shia clergy edict to counter the Sunni Jihadist group.
Al-Hashd won official recognition as a national force late 2016, becoming under the command of the prime minister, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has recurrently defended them against domestic and foreign accusations of committing human rights violations.