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A senior police officer was killed in southern  in the early hours of Thursday, in the latest attack on members of the .

Major Husam al-Olyawi was assassinated in Maysan province at around dawn, the (PMF), a state-sanctioned umbrella group of militias, said in a statement.

Unidentified gunmen shot al-Olyawi while he was sat in his car in Al-Amarah, the capital of Maysan province, according to media reports.

مقتل حسام العلياوي اخ وسام العلياوي القيادي في العصائب بِهجوم مسلح .

— محمد رشيد المياحي Ⓜ️ (@mem___Rd)

The officer is the brother of Issam and Wissam al-Olyawi, senior members of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq militia who were killed in Al-Amarah in October 2019, the month a popular protest movement began to grip Iraq.

Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq is part of the PMF.

Assassinations and attempted assassinations are common in Iraq, as tensions continue between rival political factions and militias.

Three other high-ranking officers were killed in March, July and December last year in different cities. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped an assassination attempt in November after his residence was targeted by drones.

Several activists have also been shot dead since the . Perpetrators are believed to be linked to pro-Iranian groups, including Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq.

Many Iranian-backed Shia factions operate in the country, and the Islamic State group has continued to wage a low-level insurgency despite being declared defeated in 2017.