Ministry of Intelligence forces shoot dead Kurdish man near Piranshahr

Ministry of Intelligence forces shot dead Ali Osloub, a 35-year-old Kurdish man, as he rode a motorcycle near the village of Jaldian in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan Province, on 17 September. The authorities have refused to return his body to his family.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Osloub, from the village of Kileh Sepyan in Piranshahr, was ambushed by dozens of Ministry of Intelligence forces that evening while travelling along a road near Jaldian.

The forces opened fire on him with weapons including DShK heavy machine guns and Kalashnikov rifles.

He was hit by several bullets and died at the scene. The forces then took his body away.

After learning of his death, Osloub’s family went to the judiciary and the Ministry of Intelligence office in Piranshahr to seek information.

Informed sources said the Piranshahr prosecutor confirmed his death and told the family that his body was in the custody of security agencies and would not be handed over to them.

On 20 September, three days after the killing, the Ministry of Intelligence issued a statement describing Osloub as an “operational member” of a Kurdish opposition party, without identifying him by name.

State media also published a photograph of his body after the killing.