IS claims killing Iraq election candidate

BAGHDAD: Gunmen shot dead a parliamentary candidate at his home in northern Iraq on Monday, a local official said, in an attack claimed by the IS group. The candidate was “shot dead” by armed men at dawn “after they forced their way into his home,” said Salah al Juburi, a local official in Qayyarah, 70km south of Mosul city. The official named the slain candidate as Faruq Zarzur al Juburi, 45, from Vice President Ayad Allawi’s National Alliance list. National elections are set for Saturday. In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, IS said Zarzur al Juburi was killed because he was “an atheist”. IS threatened in late April to attack polling stations, voters and candidates, in a statement by its spokesman Abu Hassan al Muhajir. — AFP