Gunmen Kill Turkish Diplomat in Attack in Kurdish-Run Iraqi City
Turkish Diplomats Attacked in Iraq; Deputy Consul Reported Dead
(Bloomberg) -- At least one Turkish diplomat was shot dead by assailants at a coffee shop in the Kurdish-controlled Iraqi city of Erbil, risking a sharp escalation in hostilities between Turkey’s military and Kurdish rebels.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed that one employee at its consulate in the city was killed, saying the attack took place outside the diplomatic mission. Iraq’s Sumaria TV said Turkey’s deputy consul died along with two companions, which couldn’t be independently verified.
Mesut Hakki Casin, a member of the security and foreign policy board that advises Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on AHaber television that the “terror” attack could be related to Turkey’s recent military operation against PKK bases in Iraq. Casin said Turkey will “definitely retaliate.”
Turkey has been fighting against PKK separatists for over three decades. The militant group is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.
--With assistance from Abbas Al Lawati.
To contact the reporters on this story: Cagan Koc in Istanbul at ckoc2@bloomberg.net;Dana Khraiche in Beirut at dkhraiche@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, ;Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky, Mark Williams
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