9-year-old girl burnt to death over family dispute in Iraq

Gulf Today Report

The Babil Governorate Police Command in central Iraq revealed the arrest of one of the perpetrators of the murder of the 9-year-old girl, Retaj Al-Badiri.

The little girl was murdered in a brutal manner that sparked anger in the country.

Babylon Police added in a statement that preliminary information indicated that one of the accused of the crime was a 36-year-old woman.

The police said the 36-year-old woman committed the crime over family dispute.

The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.

Babylon police announced that the body the missing child was found, cut and burned in a gruesome manner inside a house in the neighbourhood.

The house’s occupants were arrested, noting that it is located in the Alexandria district, north of the governorate.

The authorities added that after receiving a report about the missing girl from the family, a working team was formed from various security agencies.

The team searched and gathered information about the girl.

The team was able to find the child’s body hidden inside a room of the house in the Alexandria district.

The police said body was badly burned, and was cut into pieces. Some of her parts were dumbed in a garbage container in the area.

The police took all members of the house into custody.

The horrific crime sparked angry reactions among social media users in Iraq, demanding that the maximum punishment be imposed on the killers.

Civil society activists and children's rights groups called for the necessity of quickly passing a law to protect children in Iraq, in light of the escalation of violence against them.

The rates of crimes committed against children have become very high and terrifying, as hardly a day goes by without a murder or abuse being committed against an Iraqi child, whether by his family or by others, being uncovered.