Iraqi TikTok star Om Fahad shot dead outside home in Baghdad, investigation underway

Om Fahad, a well-known Iraqi social media influencer was shot dead outside her home in Baghdad, Iraq, by a gunman on a motorbike on Friday, Iraqi security officials, as per reports.

Om Fahad was shot in her car in the Zayouna district by an unidentified assailant, according to a security officer who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the media. According to a different security source, the attacker seemed to have pretended to be a food delivery person, reported AFP.

According to AP Fahad’s killing occurred in the same neighborhood where Hisham al-Hashimi, a well-known security specialist and researcher from Iraq, was shot and killed in 2020. The neighborhood was regarded as a distinguished district in Baghdad and was home to military officials prior to the US invasion in 2003. A lot of militia leaders have moved there in recent years.

Om Fahad gained popularity on TikTok by posting videos of herself dancing to Iraqi music. 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. Till now, several influencers have since been arrested, according to authorities.

Despite years of war and sectarian conflict after the 2003 US invasion to overthrew Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to a semblance of normality.

But civil liberties — for women, sexual minorities and other groups — remain constrained in the conservative society.

In 2018, model and influencer Tara Fares was shot dead by gunmen in Baghdad.