Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani has been found dead in an apartment in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, according to a security source, prompting a “murder” investigation.

The source, who spoke to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, did not disclose how al-Alwani had died.

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The official National News Agency described al-Awani’s death as a “murder” and said authorities in Lebanon have launched an investigation.

It said al-Alwani’s body was found in an apartment in the Tariq Al-Jadeeda neighbourhood of Beirut on Monday.

According to NNA, Judge Ahmed Rami al-Hajj will oversee the investigation by Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces.

In a statement on X, al-Alwani’s office called the former lawmaker’s death an “assassination” and a “treacherous crime”.

It called for an investigation and accountability for the perpetrators.

“This is not a passing incident to be brushed aside with condolences and condemnation,” it said. “It is a crime that demands a firm official response and a transparent investigation that reveals who planned it, who carried it out and who else was involved. Whoever is behind it, no one is above accountability.”

A Lebanese judicial source, meanwhile, told the AFP news agency that preliminary findings indicate al-Alwani was strangled to death and that a Lebanese national suspected of involvement has been arrested.

The official said authorities are looking for two Syrian suspects still at large. He added that the suspects had taken al-Alwani from the airport to his hotel when he arrived in Beirut last week.

Al-Alwani, a Sunni politician, formerly represented the western province of Anbar in Iraq’s parliament. He rose to prominence during the protests of 2012 and 2013, against the Shia-led government of then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whom protesters accused of sectarian policies and of marginalising Sunnis.

He was also a vocal critic of Iran’s influence in Iraq and of Iranian-backed Shia armed groups in the country.

Al-Alwani was arrested in December 2013 during a security raid on his home in Ramadi, during which his brother and several others were killed.

He was sentenced to death in 2014 on “terrorism” charges, but released in April 2025 under Iraq’s General Amnesty Law after more than a decade in prison.

Iraq’s Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Reda al-Husseini said on Tuesday that the Iraqi embassy was following the case closely.

He said the embassy is awaiting the final report from the Lebanese security agencies to “disclose the circumstances of the crime”.