
Kurdish father finds son's grave nearly a year after deadly shipwreck in Italy
Senior KDP, PUK officials to meet for cabinet formation talks
US energy giant inks $100 million deal for Sulaimani plant
President Barzani participation in Pope funeral 'source of pride': Chaldean Archdiocese
President Barzani's leads key visit to Jordan to boost ties amid regional uncertainties
A+ A-
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A father from the Kurdistan Region's Ranya town found his son's grave in Italy over ten months after he drowned in a deadly shipwreck off the coast, and is requesting government assistance to repatriate his body.
"On June 13, 2024, Hardi left the Kurdistan Region for Turkey, and from there he was going to Europe, but on the 17th of the same month, we received news that his boat with 73 people on board had sunk, only 10 people were rescued, and Hardi drowned,' Mohammed Bakhtiar, the cousin of the victim Hardi Karokh, told Rudaw on Saturday.
Two shipwrecks off the coasts of Italy's Roccella Ionica and Lampedusa on June 17 left at least 70 migrants dead and missing. Most of the passengers were Kurds from the Kurdistan Region and Iran's western Kurdish areas (Rojhelat), as well as people from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, and Syria.
Karokh Ismail, the father, had been searching for his son's remains since the news of the shipwreck broke, according to Bakhtiar. He found his son's grave on Saturday.
'In Italy, all assistance was provided so that we could bring Hardi's body back to the Kurdistan Region. We ask the government or the Iraqi embassy to help us so that we can return Hardi's body,' he said.
The father traveled to Italy on April 20 and located the hospital where DNA tests had been conducted on the victims of the shipwreck, Bakhtiar explained. Through the hospital, he found the graves of 20 people who had drowned that day. One of the graves bore the name and age of his son, Hardi Karokh.
Ismail returned from Italy on Saturday after his visa expired.
Tens of thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region take on perilous routes out of the country towards Europe every year in hopes of escaping the endless crises in the country, including the lack of employment, political instability, and corruption.
Solin Hamadamin contributed to this article.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Shafaq News
2 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Iraqi parliament holds second reading of PMF Law
Shafaq News – Baghdad Iraq's parliament conducted the second reading of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Administrative Structure Law on Wednesday, advancing a controversial proposal that would expand the group's institutional authority. The revised draft, set to replace Law No. 40 of 2016, includes 17 articles that restructure the PMF's hierarchy, authorize new directorates, and broaden its legal and executive powers. It supersedes the earlier PMF Service and Retirement Law, which was pulled in March amid political backlash and US pressure to tighten federal control over the force. In a statement, First Deputy Speaker Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, who presided over the session with 172 lawmakers in attendance, described the bill as a step toward institutionalizing the PMF's chain of command. He instructed the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee to integrate MPs' feedback before the bill proceeds to a final vote. The bill's inclusion—missing from the agenda published a day earlier—sparked a walkout by several Kurdish and Sunni MPs in protest. Lawmakers also debated nominations to the Federal Public Service Council and the presidency of the State Council, alongside other legislative items.


Rudaw Net
3 hours ago
- Rudaw Net
Top Foxtrot member arrested in Erbil: Swedish media
Also in Kurdistan KRG approves 'understanding' with Baghdad on budget issues President Barzani, Estonian defense minister discuss defense ties, regional developments KRG cabinet to address financial crisis amid new round of meetings with Baghdad KRG ministry condemns drone strikes on Duhok oil fields as operations halt A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Ahmed Alaa Fawzi, also known by his gang alias 'Dybala' and a key figure in Sweden's notorious Foxtrot Network, has been apprehended in Erbil, according to Sweden's national broadcaster SVT. SVT reported that Fawzi, 27, was arrested several weeks ago by local security forces in the Kurdistan Region, though news of his capture has only recently been made public. Rudaw English reached out to Erbil police, but they were not immediately available for a comment. Originally from Baghdad, Fawzi holds only Iraqi citizenship and was denied asylum in Sweden in 2015. Fawzi is internationally wanted by Swedish authorities for allegedly ordering the murder of a father of three in Skurup, a municipality in southern Sweden's Skane County. Interpol has also issued a Red Notice for his arrest on charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aiding and abetting, and weapons offenses. Prominent Swedish daily Aftonbladet cited Fawzi's lawyer, Tobias Guldstrand, as noting that he knew of his client's apprehension 'only through the media. I have nothing further I can comment on beyond that at the moment.' Widely known by his gang name Dybala, Fawzi reportedly implicated in several investigations linked to contract killings in Sweden. He is believed to be a close associate of Rawa Majid - dubbed 'the Kurdish Fox' - who leads the Foxtrot Network. The Foxtrot Network, a dominant force in Sweden's criminal underworld since the late 2010s, is deeply involved in narcotics trafficking, shootings, bombings, and other violent crimes. In March, the United States sanctioned Majid over his alleged involvement in arms and drug trafficking and for reportedly cooperating with Iran in 'attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe.' Earlier this month, Turkish authorities arrested Ismail Abdo, another Swedish gang leader and former associate of Majid. Abdo, wanted for drug trafficking and violent crimes, was detained alongside 19 others as part of a joint investigation between Turkish and Swedish law enforcement. Sweden, once celebrated for its low crime rates and robust welfare system, has witnessed a sharp rise in gang-related violence over the past decade. A surge in shootings and bombings, largely fueled by rivalries between criminal networks competing for control of drug markets, has become a pressing national concern. The violence has been exacerbated by social segregation in so-called 'vulnerable areas,' where gangs increasingly recruit minors - who often face lighter penalties under Swedish law. This trend has shaken public confidence in institutions and prompted the government to push for tougher crime-fighting measures, including broader police powers and harsher sentencing.


Rudaw Net
4 hours ago
- Rudaw Net
KRG approves ‘understanding' with Baghdad on budget issues
Also in Kurdistan Top Foxtrot member arrested in Erbil: Swedish media President Barzani, Estonian defense minister discuss defense ties, regional developments KRG cabinet to address financial crisis amid new round of meetings with Baghdad KRG ministry condemns drone strikes on Duhok oil fields as operations halt A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced on Wednesday that it has reached a new "understanding" with Baghdad aimed at resolving the ongoing budget dispute that has left more than 1.2 million public employees in the Kurdistan Region without salaries for over two months. In an official statement, the KRG said it had "approved a new understanding" with the federal government regarding the disbursement of salaries and financial entitlements. The night before, a fresh round of high-level meetings kicked off between Kurdish officials from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with top Iraqi leaders in Baghdad. Rudaw learned that PUK leader Bafel Talabani and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein - a senior KDP figure - met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Tuesday. Supreme Judicial Council head Faiq Zidan also attended the meeting. A source familiar with the matter said a member of the KDP politburo is also expected to join the talks, and that further meetings are planned for Wednesday with several political leaders, including from Iraq's ruling Shiite-led Coordination Framework. During the KRG's regular cabinet session on Wednesday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his Deputy Qubad Talabani 'presented details of the mutual understanding that emerged yesterday [Tuesday] with Baghdad, regarding the provision of the Kurdistan Region's financial entitlements and its [corresponding] obligations.' According to the KRG statement, the cabinet 'welcomed' the understanding and 'decided to implement the crux' of it, to prompt the federal government to facilitate 'the transfer of salaries and financial dues from the federal government.' Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad escalated in late May when Iraq's federal finance ministry suspended budget transfers to the KRG. The ministry accused Erbil of receiving more than its 12.67 percent share of the federal budget and failing to deliver the agreed-upon volume of oil to the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). The suspension led to a halt in salary payments to public sector employees. On a different note, Wednesday marked the third consecutive day of drone attacks targeting oil infrastructure in the Region. The KRG cabinet strongly condemned the "terrorist attacks on the Kurdistan Region, especially the oil fields, which have caused significant material damage to the oil production process and are aimed at striking the Kurdistan Region's economic and energy infrastructure." The KRG called on Baghdad to take responsibility by "putting an end to these attacks and taking legal action against the saboteurs." Drone strikes in the Kurdistan Region have increased since the outbreak of a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran that began on June 13 and ended with a US-brokered ceasefire. While no group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, the Kurdistan Region's interior ministry in early July accused the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of involvement - an allegation Baghdad has dismissed as 'unacceptable.'