Iraqi TikTok Influencer Om Fahad Shot and Killed Outside Her Home

Om Fahad, an Iraqi TikToker and social media influencer, was tragically shot and killed on Friday, April 26.

Fahad, born Ghufran Sawadi, was fatally shot outside of her home in Baghdad, Iraq, according to the Washington Post. The outlet did not specify how old Fahad was at the time of her death.

A lone assailant on a motorbike reportedly approached Fahad while she sat inside a black SUV and fired shots inside the car before running off.

According to the BBC, the attacker may have been pretending to make a food delivery, per an Iraqi security source. Another woman was reportedly injured during the attack.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry said a team has been put together to investigate the murder. An arrest has not been made.

Fahad’s nearly half a million followers tuned in to watch videos of herself dancing to Iraqi music and documenting her daily life. Last year, the Iraqi government launched a campaign targeting social media content deemed offensive to morals and traditions, resulting in Fahad and five others facing legal repercussions for “offending morals and public decency.”

The BBC also reports that a feud between Fahad and another influencer, Dalia Naeem, emerged recently. Naeem, also known as “Iraqi Barbie,” had been allegedly threatening to expose a relationship between Fahad and senior Iraqi officials.

Fahad’s killing also echoes the 2018 murder of Tara Fares, a model and Instagram creator with over 2 million followers, who was killed in broad daylight in her car in Baghdad.