ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - At least three people were killed and four wounded in clashes that erupted during an arrest operation which targeted a wanted drug lord in Duhok’s Shekhan District on Tuesday.

Shekhan’s internal security forces (Asayish) carried out an operation late Tuesday to arrest a known drug lord while the suspect was attending a wedding at a reception hall.

The suspect resisted arrest and opened fire against the security forces, leading to an armed confrontation that ended in his death, according to Sardar Sheikh Yahya, the district mayor.

At least two Asayish members were also killed in the shootout. The clashes left also left at least three security force members and one civilian wounded.

“For more than a year, police and security forces had been searching for this suspect who was accused of drug trafficking and was wanted by the court,” Yahya told The New Region. “Tonight they had information that he had participated in a party and entered a banquet hall.”

A medical staff member at Shekhan hospital told The New Region that the wounded received emergency stabilization care and were later transferred to Duhok for further treatment.

Reporting by Hevi Karam