In his latest Tweet, Hicham Al-Hashémi once again tirelessly denounced the responsibility of the confessional and religious parties in the divisions of Iraqi society.
An hour later, Monday evening July 6, a flood of emotional and dismayed messages overwhelmed the social network at the announcement of his death. The jihadist, a 47-year-old father, was gunned down by gunmen outside his home in Baghdad. The attack was not claimed, but many see it as the hand of pro-Iranian Shiite militias, who had threatened him for his positions. All fear a wave of political assassinations intended to silence their detractors.
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said "Promise the authors to find them". "We will not allow the assassinations to return to the Iraqi scene (…) and we will make every effort to place arms under the authority of the state, so that no force stands against the rule of law ", he assured in a press release.
A member of the Iraq Advisory Council expert group, Hicham Al-Hachémi was in close contact with the new head of government – also chief intelligence officer since 2016 – as well as President Barham Saleh. The latter denounced a "Abject crime which targets all Iraqis and their right to a free and dignified life". Many chancelleries, from the United Nations to the European Union and Iran, have also sent their condolences.
Death threat
A native of Baghdad and a connoisseur of jihadist groups – from Al-Qaida to the Islamic State organization (IS) -, Hicham Al-Hashémi established himself as an essential specialist in this movement during the war against IS (2014 -2017). He was consulted by all the international media for his expertise, which he shared with generosity and simplicity.
Passionate researcher and workaholic, he wrote for numerous research centers such as the Chatham House in London and the Center for Global Policy in Washington, and he intervened in mediations of reconciliation between war-torn communities in Iraq. By the end of the battle against ISIS, he had extended his field of analysis to Iraqi politics and the activities of the pro-Iran Shiite armed factions, whose dominion he denounced.
These criticisms had led him, in September 2019, to be threatened with death, along with thirteen other Iraqi personalities, by pro-Iran online groups, accusing them of being "Collaborators", "Traitors to the fatherland", "Pro-Israel" and "Pro-americans".
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