Turkish diplomat and a Kurdish civilian killed in shooting in Kurdistan’s Erbil
Erbil – North-Press Agency
Ziad Ismail
An unknown person had opened fire inside a restaurant near the Turkish Consulate in Erbil killing a Turkish diplomat and a Kurdish civilian, according to North-Press reporter.
The Security Directorate (Asayish) in Erbil announced in a formal statement the death of a Turkish diplomat and another citizen with another injured in a shooting incident inside a restaurant in the city of Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan region.
While the directorate condemned the event deeply, it expressed its condolence to the families of the victims, stressing at the same time that it reassures the people of Erbil especially the diplomats that it will not allow the prevailing security and stability atmosphere in Kurdistan Region to be disturbed.
In its statement, the Security Directorate (Asayish) in Erbil continued that it started investigations about the incident and the executor will get a fair penalty.
Formal website of the Anti-Terrorism Forces of the Security Council in Kurdistan Region pointed out that the security parties stated doing an intensive investigation about the incident.
Our reporter mentioned that all the external roads linking Erbil with Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Kirkuk were closed due to the incident.
The spokesperson of the Turkish Presidency Ibrahim Kalin vowed on Twitter to retaliate for the attack that targeted the employee of the Turkish Consulate: “Searches have already started to find the perpetrators. The perpetrators of this treacherous attack will be given a necessary response,” he tweeted.
While the Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry had announced in a statement issued earlier that “one of its employees in the Turkish Consulate was shot in the afternoon while he was out of the consulate building in Erbil causing him to die”.
“We are continuing our contacts with Iraqi authorities and local officials to find the executors as soon as possible,” the statement added.