Hassan al Mandeel, governor of Babylon, Iraq's central governorate, announced that an investigation was launched into the murder of 20 members of a family, including women and children, in a security operation.
Civilians were killed Thursday in a shootout between security forces and a suspect wanted on terrorism charges in the governorate, according to the Iraqi Army's Babylonian Operations Command.
In a statement, Mandeel said that an investigative committee was established to "investigate the reasons that led to this massacre," and called the loss of innocent lives "a serious crime that cannot be tolerated."
The official promised that those responsible "will receive appropriate punishment."
Iraqi forces have recently increased their operations to apprehend wanted suspects on terrorism charges, especially in provinces that were under the control of the Daesh / ISIS terror group between 2014 and 2017.
In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh / ISIS by claim all the territories that the terrorist group controlled since the summer of 2014, estimated at approximately one third of the country's territory.
However, the group still maintains cells in large areas of Iraq and occasionally launches attacks.
Source: Anadolu
