BAGHDAD: A security agency controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said on Wednesday that they had uncovered a plot to assassinate PUK leader Bafel Talabani, sharing a video that purported to show six guards saying they had received an order to kill him.
The video, broadcast by a PUK-affiliated security service in the Kurdistan region, showed the fighters describing plans to rent an apartment in a high-rise building near the PUK leader’s headquarters. Footage included snipers with silencers positioned near a window overlooking the party leader’s office.
The guards in the video say they received their orders from Lahur Talabani, a prominent Kurdish politician who is the cousin of Bafel Talabani and leader of the rival People’s Front party.
Lahur Talabani’s office was not immediately available for comment. A member of the People’s Front accused the PUK of using judicial and security institutions to suppress political rivals.
Lahur Talabani was arrested on Friday by PUK-controlled forces after they raided a hotel in Sulaymaniya late on Thursday and clashed for four hours with fighters loyal to him. Police and hospital sources said three PUK commandos and two of Lahur Talabani’s fighters were killed in the fighting.
