An Iraqi who was “under the influence of drugs” shot dead his mother and three of his brothers, at dawn on Tuesday, in the south of the country, which has turned into an important crossing point for smugglers, according to an Iraqi police official.
The official, who preferred not to be identified, said, “The young man is called Ali Habib, born in 1999. Under the influence of drugs, he killed four members of his family, who are his mother, brother and two sisters.”
He explained that the crime occurred following “midnight Monday to Tuesday with a gun, in the south of the city of Kut, the capital of Wasit province, which borders Iran.”
The police arrested the perpetrator, who was previously arrested and released in the past, on charges of drug abuse, according to the source.
The cause of the crime was not disclosed, except that the perpetrator was under the influence of drugs.
The security forces have intensified their operations, and are now announcing the seizure of narcotics or the arrest of drug traffickers, on an almost daily basis.
According to Iraqi security authorities and Western diplomats in Iraq, Iraq has turned in recent years into a transit point for drugs that come mainly from Iran, Lebanon and Syria.
In December of last year, the Anti-Narcotics Directorate of the Ministry of Interior identified the governorates of Basra and Maysan al-Janoub, among the main areas where drugs are smuggled and consumed.
