SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A former ranking member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was shot dead on Friday.
Niyaz Jalal Bag also known as Niyaz Dargallei, was found dead at his summer house in the town of Ranya north of Sulaimani province on Friday night.
His relatives revealed that he has been shot three times in his head and called the incident an “assassination”.
Jalal Bag has served as a former member of the PUK central committee council and has been named as mayor of the Dukan and Choman sub-district formerly. He was also an ex-military commander of the party.
The PUK politburo expressed his grief and condolences over Jalal Bag’s death, saying he was “martyred by a black hand”, according to a statement on Saturday.
Meanwhile, police on Saturday stated that Jalal Bag died in an “unknown event”, adding, it had launched investigations to find the real cause of his death.
“The autopsy report confirms that he has been shot three times,” police said. “We believe that it’s an assassination act,” police added.
PUK President Bafel Talabani extended his condolences to the family of Jalal Bag, calling the incident “suspicious”.
“All of the security forces have been tasked to reveal the perpetrators as soon as possible and bring them into the trial,” he said
In the meantime, Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani expressed his sadness over the incident and called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, urging swift investigations.
