Iraqi government spokesman resigns from Al Kadhimi's government

Ahmad Mulla Talal said he has a 'different understanding of reality' from the prime minister and will serve his country in another field

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, October 19, 2020. EPA

The Iraqi government spokesman, Ahmad Mulla Talal, has resigned from his position, nearly six months after taking office.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi appointed Mr Talal weeks after taking office in May. He is the first official in Mr Al Kadhimi’s government to resign since taking office in May.

Mr Talal is a seasoned journalist who presented TV talk shows on different Iraqi satellite channels after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Mr Al Kadhimi “seeks to achieve an ambitious project with a loyal, enthusiastic, and bold team who have his own understanding of reality, but I had a different understanding,” Mr Talal wrote on his Twitter feed.

“I will continue serving my country from another place and field,” he said.

Speculations on his resignation surfaced after the country’s culture minister gave the weekly Cabinet press conference on Tuesday but no further details have since been given.

His last appearance was in the middle of November on state TV when he announced that the killers of prominent scholar Husham Al Hashimi, who was killed in July, had fled Iraq.

Mr Talal accused an unidentified party of smuggling the killers outside the country without naming the culprits.

At least four gunmen on two motorcycles waited outside Mr Al Hashimi’s home in Baghdad’s eastern Shiite-dominated neighbourhood Zayouna and opened fire on the academic, who had advised Mr Al Kadhimi’s government on security matters.

Mr Al Hashimi was a leading expert on ISIS and other militant groups, including the Iran-backed Shiite militias. As a well-informed security analyst, his expertise was sought by governments, researchers and journalists.