Bakr Sidqi - Assassination and Legacy

Assassination and Legacy

It is important to note that Sidqi’s image began to deteriorate in the eyes of the public as soon as the coup had played out. Many realized his dictatorial behavior in addition to the irresponsible acts of those closest to him. His primary objective was to reinforce and to restructure the army. Khadduri claims that Sidqi was aware of tension surrounding him and had created a “black list”. This list contained names of military and civilian enemies who he wanted assassinated. It is imperative to mention that numerous attempts were made to get rid of Sidqi, however, his security arrangements and heavy bodyguard always thwarted these plans.

In August 1937, while en route to Turkey, Sidqi was assassinated in the garden of one of the air force bases in Mosul along with Mohammad ‘Ali Jawad, the commanding officer of the Iraqi Royal Air Force. Both Sidqi and Jawad were sent as part of a military mission by the Iraqi government in response to an invitation from the Turkish government. Sidqi had stopped in Mosul on August 11 on the way to Turkey to spend the afternoon with Jawed when a soldier named Muhammad ‘Ali Talla’fari opened fire, instantly killing both men. The bodies of both men were flown to Baghdad the following day and buried with full military honors. Less than a year from his military coup, Sidqi’s death emphasizes the need for a political and military stronghold in Iraq.

Many attribute his murder to his reformist judgment and dissociation form the idea of pan-Arabism. It is still unclear as to who was behind the death of Sidqi but many conspiracy theories have emerged. Some theories state that the British in conjunction with Nuri al Sa’id were behind it. Other theories suggest that Sidqi was assassinated by a group of dissident nationalist military officers who had withdrawn their support from him after he had promoted adherent officers key military posts. However, a thorough investigation by Hikmat Sulayman’s government, revealed seven army officers as part of the plot including, Aziz Yamulki, Fahmi Sa’id, Mahmud Hindi and Muhammad Khorshid.