Civilian Killed as Iraq Forces Fire on Protest in Border City of Khanaqin

The body of a man can be seen on the street in Khanaqin, located in Iraq on the Iranian border, after Iraqi forces opened fire on protesters on October 19.

In this video, an injured man moans as he sits on the ground outside a store. He is wearing the colors of the Kurdish flag around his neck. A group of people yelling for a car carry down the road a second man, his shirt covered in blood.

The person filming approaches another group of people surrounding the body of a man. The back of his head is blown open, and the men cry out in anguish. Two of them are carrying Kurdish flags.

Locals had taken to the street in anger after what they said was abuse of locals by militias aligned with the Iraqi government, Kurdish news outlet Rudaw reported.

In a video posted earlier to the same account, men in civilian clothes holding Kurdish flags try to push past Iraqi forces, who push them back. The men are chanting, “The Peshmerga are coming,” referring to Kurdish militias.

Iraqi forces entered Khanaqin on October 17 as part of a wide-scale operation against Kurdish-held areas after a referendum came out in favor of an independent Kurdistan. Credit: Facebook/Kurdistan Current 24 Voice of the People via Storyful