Iraqi Police found the body of Akram al-Daini amidst growing spate of kidnappings in Iraq. AFP/PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

SAMARRA: Iraqi police on Thursday found the bound body of Akram al-Daini, brother of Sunni MP Nahida al-Daini, five days after he was kidnapped near Tikrit in central Iraq, a police officer said.

“Police found the body of Akram al-Daini bound with iron chains and with gunshot wounds on it, in the village of Al-Bujwari,” north of Baghdad, the officer said, adding that the body of an unknown woman was found near that of Daini.

A security official said that Akram al-Daini was kidnapped with his bodyguard on the road between Samarra and Tikrit on Saturday night, and that the kidnappers demanded a ransom of $1 million but the family refused to pay.

According to the police officer, Daini's bodyguard survived but was shot a number of times.

“The gunmen ordered Daini's guard to get out of the car and run, and they opened fire on him from behind and left him for dead, but he was able to go to the police” and told them about the direction the gunmen were travelling, the officer said.

Iraq has seen a wave of kidnappings as part of sectarian violence, and also targeting foreigners and wealthy Iraqis, in the years since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Nahida al-Daini is an MP from the secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya list.

Opinion

Editorial

Impending slaughter
Updated 07 May, 2024

Impending slaughter

Seven months into the slaughter, there are no signs of hope.
Wheat investigation
07 May, 2024

Wheat investigation

THE Shehbaz Sharif government is in a sort of Catch-22 situation regarding the alleged wheat import scandal. It is...
Naila’s feat
07 May, 2024

Naila’s feat

IN an inspirational message from the base camp of Nepal’s Mount Makalu, Pakistani mountaineer Naila Kiani stressed...
Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
Updated 06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

If the judiciary had the power to self-regulate, it ought to have exercised it instead of involving the legislature.