5 Killed in Error at a Kurdish Checkpoint

Five Muslim men, including a leader of a prominent Islamist political party in northern Iraq, were shot and killed today at a highway checkpoint here by Kurdish security officers. Immediately after the killings, Kurdish officials said the action of the officers had thwarted a terrorist squad that has been hunting for American Special Forces teams in the area. But by nightfall, as it became clear the dead were members of a registered political party, the authorities issued statements of regret. It appeared the dead men had been mistaken for terrorists. Dr. Barham Salih, prime minister for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which controls the eastern Kurdish zone, expressed sorrow for the deaths and said the Kurdish authorities had begun an investigation. “If there are people who have overreacted and did not adhere to the rules of engagement, there will be repercussions,” he said. Among the dead was Abdullah Qasri, a member of the political bureau of Komali Islami Kurdistan, an Islamic group that has formal relations with the Patriotic Union. Full Story