Anger erupts in Iraq after mother throws children off bridge

A three-year-old and his two-year-old sister were thrown off a bridge and into the Tigris river by their mother in the Iraqi capital this week.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

19 October, 2020

A video showing the crime emerged online [Twitter]

An Iraqi woman caused uproar in Iraq on Sunday after a video emerged showing her throwing her two children from the Al-Aimmah Bridge along the Tigris River in the capital.

The woman, who was arrested shortly after committing the heinous crime, was seen walking along the bridge with her children at night before throwing them in, one by one.

The Iraqi ministry of interior in a statement said it was triggered by a dispute with her ex-husband, without providing further information.

According to an Iraqi paralegal on Twitter, the couple had divorced three months earlier and the husband had been granted custody of their children.

Another video that surfaced online showed the distraught father tearfully shouting for his children at the scene of the crime.

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The bodies of the 3-year-old boy and his 2-year-old sister were later recovered by rescue teams.

The crime shook the nation, with many calling on authorities to implement the harshest punishment against the mother who confessed to her actions.

“What is the children’s fault in their dispute?” one Twitter user said.

“This is not a mother - since when do mothers have the heart to do this?” another user said.

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