The former Iraqi official who escaped from a detention centre in Baghdad on Tuesday died shortly after security forces arrested him on Thursday, a government statement said.
Saad Kambash, former head of the Sunni Endowment, was arrested last month and sentenced to four years in prison for corruption.
He was found guilty of using $36 million of waqf funds to buy a hotel, which anti-corruption investigators said was not “economically viable”, during his term in office from February 2020 to March 2022.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Interior said Kambash had been discovered in the city of Mosul, about 400km north of Baghdad.
“The force managed to surround his location, and during the arrest process, he tried to escape,” the ministry statement said.
“As the force started chasing him, he fell ill and his health condition deteriorated.”
He was dead on arrival at Mosul General Hospital.
“There were no external effects of stress on the body of the deceased, who suffered from chronic diseases,” the ministry statement added.
It also said that a special medical committee had been formed to carry out a postmortem and determine the cause of death.
On Tuesday, Kambash's sister, an MP, visited him at Karadat Maryam police station on the perimeter of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone during iftar, Maj Gen Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi Armed Forces, said in a statement.
A few hours later, “the convict escaped with the help of three people from behind the [police] station and reached two cars that were waiting for him to secure his escape”, said Maj Gen Rasool.
The Green Zone is home to the cabinet, parliament and key government offices, as well as foreign embassies and the homes of senior politicians.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani on Thursday sacked Lt Gen Hamid Al Zuhairi, commander of the Special Division who oversaw security in the Green Zone, according to a statement from his office.
The statement said the general was fired “due to insufficient action taken in response to the incident” and that “all those responsible” would be held accountable “and legally punished”.
The Prime Minister also ordered the closure of the unit in the police station and the transfer of prisoners being held there to other facilities.
Corruption has become one of the main features of the political landscape following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The country was ranked 157 out of 180 on Transparency International's corruption perception index in 2022.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
More on animal trafficking
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
New schools in Dubai
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
