Baghdad crackdown on illegal housing turns deadly as shooting kills Iraqi chief

Iraqi military personnel and municipal workers have come under fire in Baghdad as they tried to remove illegal housing structures

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi military personnel and municipal workers came under fire in Baghdad on Thursday as they tried to remove illegal housing structures, leaving a senior officer dead and five other people wounded, an Iraqi security official and state media said.

The security official said the shooting left an army brigadier general dead and wounded a police officer and four municipal workers in Baghdad’s southern district of Dora. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Police and armed forces sealed off the area, while the Baghdad Operations Commander went to the scene to monitor the situation, the security official said.

The state news agency also reported that a brigadier general was killed and several municipal workers were wounded in the shooting, adding that Baghdad’s municipality acted after receiving legal orders to remove the illegal structures.

The southern neighborhood of Dora consists of large agricultural areas where illegal construction is not uncommon.