Father shoots daughter dead in Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan

Father shoots 30 years old daughter Kijan Burhan dead Sulaimani Oct 2026 — Kijan Burhan, 30, died on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, after being shot three times by her father in Sulaimani the previous night, police said. Her father was arrested at the scene, Sulaimani city, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: SM/via iKurd.net

SULAIMANI,— A woman died in Sulaimani city on Tuesday afternoon, a day after her father shot her three times, police said.

The victim, Kijan Burhan, was 30 years old and was born in 1996. She died from her wounds after being shot the previous night. Her father was arrested at the scene shortly after the shooting.

Ari Latif, spokesperson for the Sulaimani Police Directorate, said officers went to the scene right away and arrested the suspect.

He said the shooting was the result of what he called a “social dispute”.

Police have opened a case file and are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Police often use the term “family dispute, social dispute” in such cases. This term is commonly linked to incidents of domestic violence or so-called honor-based crimes.

After news of the killing spread, several anonymous social media pages claimed that two female media workers in Sulaimani were linked to the case. No proof was given to back up these claims.

In response, the Sulaimani branch of the Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate and the Women’s Media and Cultural Organization released a joint statement condemning both the killing and the unproven claims online.

The statement said some media outlets and anonymous pages acted irresponsibly by ignoring legal procedure and speaking out before any official decision was made.

It said this amounts to defaming female media workers and harming the reputation of Sulaimani.

The two groups said that courts and judicial bodies are the only ones with the right to decide such cases, not unverified online pages, which they said are trying to disrupt the legal process.

Pointing to the rule that a suspect is innocent until a court gives its final ruling, the groups said they stand by the accused journalists and promised to hold accountable those spreading false claims.

The statement ended with a call to shut down the anonymous pages, saying that as long as the police investigation is open, any accusations made through these pages have no legal basis.

Honor killings, domestic abuse, and other forms of violence against women remain common in the Kurdistan Region. Many of these cases are tied to what is often called a “social disputes,” a term used to describe conflicts that turn violent.

Women’s rights activists say that despite repeated promises from the Kurdistan Regional Government to tackle the problem, weak law enforcement, little support for survivors, and long-standing cultural attitudes continue to let such violence happen.

Activists are calling for stronger laws, harsher punishment for offenders, and more resources for victims to help bring down the number of gender-based violence cases. They warn that without real action, the situation is unlikely to get better.