Hicham Al-Hashémi, a specialist in jihadist movements including the Islamic State (IS) group, was assassinated on Monday evening July 6 outside his home in Baghdad, causing a wave of indignation in Iraq and beyond.
Hashemi, a 47-year-old father, appeared daily in local and international media to comment on the activity of jihadist groups, Iraqi politics and the actions of pro-Iran Shiite armed factions.
This Baghdad native, round face and shaved head, was also consulted by numerous chancelleries and Iraqi political figures.
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Organizer of reconciliation meetings
Very introduced in Sunni circles as Shiites, but also among the Kurds – like the president of Iraq Barham Saleh of which he was close -, he was on several occasions the organizer of meetings of reconciliation between different factions and personalities, opposite politically or faith-based.
Hicham Al-Hashemi "Is dead and his body is in the hospital morgue", said General Saad Maan, director of communications for the interior ministry. His body bore the marks of several bullets in various places, a medical source told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
One of the investigators in charge of the case told AFP that Hashemi was murdered outside his home in the Zayyouna district of eastern Baghdad. "He was about to get into his car when three armed men in two mopeds shot and injured him, he added. They then approached and shot him in the head with four point-blank shots. "
A valued man
"The cowards murdered my friend and one of Iraq's brightest researchers, Hicham Al-Hachémi, I am shocked", tweeted Harith Hasan, a researcher and an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi today.
On social networks, messages of condolence to his family and praise rained, both to a recognized expert who wrote for the Chatham House research centers in London and the Center for Global Policy in Washington, among others, than to a man appreciated for his humor and modesty.
UN representative in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said "Shocked" by this "Assassination". "We strongly condemn this cowardly and atrocious act", she wrote on Twitter. "I call on the government to quickly identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice". Mr. Kadhimi said "Promise the authors to find them". "We will not allow the assassinations to return to Iraq", he added in an evening statement.
Assassinations of Iraqi figures, if they were legion during the years of civil war from 2006 to 2009, practiced by both the Shiite factions and the jihadists, are now very rare.
Cyber harassment
Hashemi had vigorously taken a stand in favor of the popular revolt launched last October which demanded a total overhaul of the Iraqi political system and denounced the Iranian takeover of Baghdad.
During the six months of protest, several dozen activists were murdered by armed men, often on mopeds, near their homes. Authorities continue to claim that they cannot identify the perpetrators. In September, before the unprecedented fall protests broke out, Hashemi was threatened with death with 13 other Iraqi figures by online pro-Iran groups.
In a cyber harassment campaign, they attacked him and the others, accusing them of being "Collaborators", "Traitors to the fatherland", "Pro-Israel" and "Pro-americans".
On Monday evening, Hachd Al-Chaabi, a coalition of pro-Iran paramilitaries now integrated into the state, denounced the assassination, pointing the finger at the jihadists. "The security forces must find the terrorist group that murdered Hicham Al-Hachémi, one of the best IS experts who played a great role in bringing to light its secrets", claims a press release from Hachd.
