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2025 Duhok axe attack
Terrorist attack in Iraqi Kurdistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On 1 April 2025, a Syrian national[2] went on a short-lived spree of attacks against Assyrians celebrating the annual Kha b-Nisan festival in Duhok. Two people were injured from the attacks,[3] while other sources suggest that an additional third person was from the Asayish was injured. Days after the attack, the perpetrator was revealed to be a Syrian refugee from Duhok, who had been indoctrinated by ISIS before carrying out the attack.
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Attack
The attacker initially hid the weapons in a bag until making his way to the scene of parades for the Assyrian New Year.[4] Videos of the attack surfaced on social media that featured the attacker yelling "Dawla Islam" (Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية), or "Islamic State" as he ran towards the marching crowd, before being pinned down to the ground by Assyrians at the scene.[5] He attacked three people, including a minor, who was seen wiping blood off his body with the Assyrian flag.[6] Subsequently, the bloodied flag was waved during the rest of the parade as a symbol of resilience and was also present in social media videos. After the attack, celebrations of Akitu continued as planned, with attendees continuing to wave flags and perform traditional dances.[7]
Investigation
A source close to the Iraqi Shafaq News stated that the attacker had conducted the attack as a terrorist operation linked to ISIS.[5] Investigations by the Kurdistan Region Security Council also made similar claims.[2][8]
Initial reports stated that the assailant was a Syrian national living in the Domiz refugee camp in Duhok,[9] which notably housed a number of Syrian Kurdish refugees who fled the Syrian civil war.[10] On April 10th, the KRSC identified the assailant as Louay Abdulrahman and released a video confession from him the same day.[4] In the video, Abdulrahman stated that he became indoctrinated by ISIS after following their social media accounts and reading their publications. He eventually pledged allegiance to an emir and underwent "religious and jihadist courses", and chose to carry out the attack on April 1st since he knew it would be during Akitu festivals.[11]
The investigations confirmed that at least two people were injured, though some reports stated that all three attacked sustained injuries;[12] a 17-year-old boy from Bakhdida and a 75-year-old woman from Ain Baqrah, a village near Alqosh suffered skull factures, while a member of local security forces was also wounded from the attacks.[9][13][14] Former politician Srood Maqdasy confirmed the identities of the victims of the attack in an interview with Rudaw Media Network.
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The governor of Duhok, Ali Tatar, publicly condemned the attack as cowardly, and emphasized the need for coexistence of ethnic and religious groups in the region.[15] The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) also wrote a condemnation of the incident, and called on respective authorities to ensure that the person responsible was held accountable for the incident.[16]
The attack was greatly condemned by members of the Assyrian community, particularly in the diaspora, who were prone to a wave of hate speech on social media following the attack.[13] The event also sparked concerns about the safety of Assyrians who remain in Iraq, and the willingness of the diaspora to make returns to live in the country or visit for celebrations.[9] Shortly after the attack, the Assyrian Democratic Movement condemned the incident, stating that it was the first of its kind since public celebrations for the Assyrian New Year began in Duhok in 1992.[17] The party urged the criminalization of hate speech and extremism, and called for public transparency regarding investigations. The Beth Nahrin Patriotic Union also expressed similar condemnations, and emphasized that the perpetrator should receive life imprisonment under Article 31 of the Iraqi Penal Code.[18]
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