SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A U.S citizen was killed in central Baghdad on Monday after several gunmen attempted to kidnap him but failed, Iraqi police said.
Stephen Edward Troell, an American citizen who also worked as an English teacher was shot dead in the Iraqi capital after gunmen in a vehicle opened fire at an SUV carrying the victim and shot him dead.
“Our initial investigation and eyewitnesses showed that armed men were trying to kidnap the American citizen,” an Iraqi police major said.
His body has been transferred to a hospital in the capital’s Karrada district, the same place where the incident occurred, the police added.
Iraq’s state news agency (INA) said that the country’s armed forces’ commander-in-chief gave the order to form an investigative committee into the killing of the U.S. citizen.
So far, the incident’s details remained unclear.
The U.S. State Department was aware of reports of an American killed in Iraq and was looking into them, department spokesperson Ned Price said.
“We would of course notify the next of kin before making any public comments,” Price said at a regular press briefing.
