Iraqi Kurdish Security Arrest Man Behind Shooting Turkish Diplomat
ERBIL (Dispatches) – Iraqi Kurdistan’s internal security service has arrested the main culprit behind the deadly shooting of a Turkish diplomat in the regional capital Erbil, it said on Saturday.
"The Kurdistan Region announced on Saturday the arrest of the man who planned the assassination of a Turkish diplomat in a restaurant in Erbil, less than a week after the attack,” the Asayish security service said in a statement.
The attack took place when a gunman opened fire on the Turkish diplomat and his company before fleeing in a car driven by an accomplice, Kurdish security officials and a witness told Reuters.
Pledging retaliation, Ankara said it had already set in motion efforts to identify and locate the assailants.
"The necessary response will be given to those who committed this treacherous attack," Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter.
The attack drew condemnation from Turkey, Iran and Kurdish authorities in Erbil.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi condemned the attack in a statement, saying such attacks highlighted the need for the international community to come together in combating terrorism.
"Terrorism is a horrible phenomenon that has inflicted major damage on the countries of the region and the only way to combat it is if the world community combats terrorist groups by ending political, financial and ideological support to these groups and arming [them]," he said.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad al-Sahaf also condemned the attack, saying Baghdad was coordinating a joint investigation involving various government organizations to find the assailants.
Some Iraqi sources suggested that the attack was a response by the terror group to Turkey's ongoing operation in northern Iraq against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which began in May.
The attack comes after Turkish forces killed two senior commanders of the PKK.
The PKK group has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. It has based its militants in the Qandil mountainous border region, north of Erbil.
Turkey and the ruling Kurdish party in Erbil, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), have in the past held the PKK responsible for other incidents relating Turkey's military operations in northern Iraq.
"The Kurdistan Region announced on Saturday the arrest of the man who planned the assassination of a Turkish diplomat in a restaurant in Erbil, less than a week after the attack,” the Asayish security service said in a statement.
The attack took place when a gunman opened fire on the Turkish diplomat and his company before fleeing in a car driven by an accomplice, Kurdish security officials and a witness told Reuters.
Pledging retaliation, Ankara said it had already set in motion efforts to identify and locate the assailants.
"The necessary response will be given to those who committed this treacherous attack," Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter.
The attack drew condemnation from Turkey, Iran and Kurdish authorities in Erbil.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi condemned the attack in a statement, saying such attacks highlighted the need for the international community to come together in combating terrorism.
"Terrorism is a horrible phenomenon that has inflicted major damage on the countries of the region and the only way to combat it is if the world community combats terrorist groups by ending political, financial and ideological support to these groups and arming [them]," he said.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad al-Sahaf also condemned the attack, saying Baghdad was coordinating a joint investigation involving various government organizations to find the assailants.
Some Iraqi sources suggested that the attack was a response by the terror group to Turkey's ongoing operation in northern Iraq against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which began in May.
The attack comes after Turkish forces killed two senior commanders of the PKK.
The PKK group has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. It has based its militants in the Qandil mountainous border region, north of Erbil.
Turkey and the ruling Kurdish party in Erbil, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), have in the past held the PKK responsible for other incidents relating Turkey's military operations in northern Iraq.