SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Turkish diplomat among two shot dead in Iraq's Arbil
Arbil, Iraq, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2019
The Turkish vice consul to Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region was among at least two people shot dead Wednesday in the regional capital Arbil, police sources said.

A police source told AFP that the Turkish vice consul was killed "in an armed attack targeting the consul and the consulate's employees in a restaurant in Arbil," adding that the attacker fled the scene.

The source gave an initial toll of three dead, but the Kurdish internal security forces, known as the Asayish, revised the toll to two.

They said an employee of the Turkish consulate as well as one Iraqi citizen were killed.

Witnesses in the city said checkpoints had been quickly set up inside and around the neighbourhood of Ainkawa, which hosts numerous restaurants and the Turkish consulate.

Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed that an "employee" at its Arbil consulate was killed in a shooting outside the consulate.

"The necessary response will be given to those who committed this treacherous attack," said Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

Turkey is waging a ground offensive and bombing campaign in Iraq's mountainous northern region to root out pockets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK, seen as a "terrorist" group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and operates rear bases in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

Several rocket attacks have targeted diplomatic missions in Iraq in recent months, including rockets near the US and UK embassies in Baghdad's "Green Zone."

The US in May ordered all non-essential personnel of its Baghdad embassy and Arbil consulate to leave the country.

And in June, protesters gathered outside the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad.

Authorities in Iraq, which is witnessing a period of relative calm since declaring victory against the Islamic State group in 2017, have pledged to protect embassies.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Growing evidence for evolving Dark Energy could inspire a new model of the Universe
LHAASO reveals hidden cosmic engines in high-energy Milky Way survey
European students complete immersive analog Mars mission in Portugal

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Bezos-backed methane-tracking satellite lost in space
Blackout at refinery highlights Venezuela's oil industry crisis
Trump says 'very wealthy' group to buy TikTok

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
China launches international association to boost global access to deep space research
Planet secures 240 million euro satellite services contract with German government
Planet expands defense partnerships with key AI surveillance contracts

24/7 News Coverage
Consortium plans global shift toward net negative carbon economy
Six satellites launched for ICEYE as constellation expansion gains momentum
WHO says all Covid-19 origin theories still open, after inconclusive study



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.