The political dynasties in Iraqi Kurdistan’s marriage of convenience are in trouble.
Power-sharing governments have largely managed to keep tensions under control since the two sides fought a civil war in the 1990s, despite the fact that the dominant Barzani and Talabani clans have long been at odds over control of resources and power in a region rich in oil and gas.
However, since a rare assassination in the city of Erbil, the simmering animosity has erupted into the open with a vengeance, and the fallout is putting the shaky alliance through one of its toughest tests since the war, diplomats and analysts say.
On October 7, not long after Hawker Abdullah Rasoul left his home on a quiet street in Erbil in an SUV, a bomb exploded in the vehicle, killing him and injuring four family members.
Rasoul was a defector and an intelligence officer.
He moved to Erbil this year and changed sides after spending nearly two decades with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a party controlled by the Talabani family, according to three security sources and a Kurdish source who spoke to Channels.
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