ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi police on Sunday announced the arrest of the leader of an “extremist” movement in the southern Diwaniyah province who allegedly killed two of his members as a sacrifice on the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday.
“The leader of the Al-Alahhiya movement in Dhi Qar province was arrested … and confessed that he had killed two people after being interrogated,” said a statement from Diwaniyah’s police directorate.
The victims were killed “as a sacrifice to God,” the statement said, adding that they also belonged to the same movement.
The Alahhiya movement is a Shiite Islamic group that first appeared in Dhi Qar in 2020 and later spread to Diwaniyah, Basra, and Maysan provinces.
Eid al-Adha was celebrated on Sunday by the Sunnis and on Monday by the Shiites in Iraq. The holiday is commemorated by animal sacrifices at designated sites or within communities.
Every year leading up to the Eid Al-Adha Islamic holiday, Muslims around the world, including those in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, sacrifice livestock. In the local animal markets, hundreds of buyers and sellers make deals beside packs of sheep, cattle, and goats.
“The leader of the Al-Alahhiya movement in Dhi Qar province was arrested … and confessed that he had killed two people after being interrogated,” said a statement from Diwaniyah’s police directorate.
The victims were killed “as a sacrifice to God,” the statement said, adding that they also belonged to the same movement.
The Alahhiya movement is a Shiite Islamic group that first appeared in Dhi Qar in 2020 and later spread to Diwaniyah, Basra, and Maysan provinces.
Eid al-Adha was celebrated on Sunday by the Sunnis and on Monday by the Shiites in Iraq. The holiday is commemorated by animal sacrifices at designated sites or within communities.
Every year leading up to the Eid Al-Adha Islamic holiday, Muslims around the world, including those in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, sacrifice livestock. In the local animal markets, hundreds of buyers and sellers make deals beside packs of sheep, cattle, and goats.
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