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Female TikTok star shot dead in Baghdad

Sunday, 28 April 2024



BAGHDAD, Apr 27 (AFP): A gunman on a motorbike shot dead a well-known Iraqi social media influencer known as Om Fahad outside her Baghad home on Friday, Iraqi security officials told AFP.
An unidentified attacker shot Om Fahad in her car in the Zayouna district, a security official said, requesting anonymity because he was not cleared to speak to the media.
Another security source said the attacker appeared to have pretended to be making a food delivery.
Om Fahad had become known for light-hearted TikTok videos of herself dancing to Iraqi music wearing tight-fitting clothes.
In February 2023, a court sentenced her to six months in jail for sharing "videos containing indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality".
The Iraqi government launched a campaign last year to clean up social media content that it said breached Iraqi "morals and traditions".
An interior ministry committee was established to scour TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms for clips it deemed offensive.