A newly elected member of Iraqi parliament from the Iraqiya List, led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, was shot dead in the city of Mosul, police sources said on Saturday.
“Unknown gunmen, wearing military uniforms, stormed Fares Jasim al—Jabouri’s house in al—Mawla district, western Mosul, claiming they were performing a search operation,” a source in the Mosul police department told the German Press Agency dpa.
“They took him outside the house, shot him then left,” he added.
Al—Jabouri’s killing comes two weeks after Bashar Al—Oqeidi, another candidate for Iraqiya List, which won the most seats in the March 7 parliamentary elections, was shot by gunmen in Mosul.
In February, a candidate for Iraqiya was also killed in Mosul before the elections.
Mosul, some 400 kilometres north of Baghdad, is among the most ethnically diverse, and dangerous, regions of Iraq. Moreover, tensions have been high in the country as the formation of a new government remains unclear.
Election results showed the Iraqiya List winning 91 seats in the 325—member parliament, closely followed by Prime Minister Nuri al— Maliki’s State of Law coalition, with 89 seats.
Iraq’s federal court ratified the results last Tuesday, and President Jalal Talabani is expected to call parliament to session, after which negotiations to form the government will officially begin.
Mr. Allawi insists he has the right to form a new government because his party won the highest number of seats.
But Mr. al—Maliki says he has can form a larger bloc in parliament, with 159 deputies, under an alliance with the Iraqi National List.
But that total would still be four seats short of a majority.
