Iraqi authorities are investigating the killing of a social media influencer

By ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities are investigating the killing of a well-known social media influencer who was shot by an armed motorcyclist in front of her home in central Baghdad. Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi who is also known as Um Fahad was popular on the social media sites TikTok and Instagram. She posted videos of herself dancing to music and was followed by tens of thousands of users. Authorities said Saturday that she was killed the night before. The Iraqi parliament separately passed an amendment to the country’s prostitution law widely criticized by human rights groups that would punish same-sex relations with a prison term ranging from 10 to 15 years. A previous version of the law would have imposed the death penalty.