ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi parliament on Thursday recommended the formation of an investigative committee to examine the details of a shootout in the Dora area of Baghdad earlier in the day that killed at least two law enforcement personnel, including a police chief.

Clashes erupted when a team of security forces tasked with removing illegal housing structures was dispatched to the capital's southern Dora neighborhood, where they were confronted by a number of armed men, leaving two members killed and wounding four, according to the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

Among the deceased was Brigadier General Hisham Mohammed Talaa, the chief of police for Baghdad's western Karkh district, with officer Khaled Abbas Loftah also losing his life in the gun battle.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned the "heinous attacks on security and service institutions," vowing to "pursue all those involved in this criminal act" and bring them to justice.

A decree subsequently issued by the Iraqi parliament recommended that the government form "a high-level parliamentary investigative committee to investigate all the circumstances of the incident," which it said would work in conjunction with law enforcement and be provided access to "all relevant documents and information" pertaining to the case.

"The committee is obligated to provide the Council of Representatives with its final report, including the results of the investigation, recommendations, and identification of those responsible and their obligations, immediately upon completion of its work, in order to take the necessary legal and parliamentary measures regarding it," the document, signed by parliament speaker Haibat al-Halbousi, read.

It is unclear whether the perpetrators belong to organized armed groups or are independent shooters. However, the area is known to have high activity of armed groups, with separate shooting incidents having taken place in the past, according to The New Region’s correspondent.

Many suburbs of the Iraqi capital feature widespread informal settlements that were built without correct planning permission, with the federal government having engaged in efforts to regularize the status of such dwellings and improve services for residents.

According to the EU Agency for Asylum, Baghdad has "the highest concentration of slums" in the country, noting that "informal settlements are mostly substandard temporary structures, overcrowded, and mostly lacking services and infrastructure."