Türkiye condemns killing of former Turkmen officer in Iraq's Kirkuk

Türkiye has condemned the "heinous terrorist attack" in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, which killed a former officer of the Iraqi Turkmen Front's Security Department.

"We are deeply saddened to learn that Ahmet Tahir, a former officer of the Iraqi Turkmen Front's Security Department, lost his life as a result of an assassination today (March 3) in Kirkuk," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic in a statement on Friday.

Condemning the attack, the statement said: "This terrorist act targets not only the peace and security of Turkmens, one of the constituent and primary components of Iraq but also Iraq’s stability."

READ MORE: Senior PKK/KCK terrorist 'neutralised' by Turkish intelligence in N. Iraq

Türkiye called on the Iraqi authorities to "immediately identify the perpetrators of this attack and bring them before justice," it added.

Tahir, who used to be one of the leaders of the Iraqi Turkmen Front's Security Department, was killed in Kirkuk.

Bagdad's recent decision to limit the use of the Turkmen language in its northern Kirkuk province drew immediate backlash from Kirkuk’s Turkmen community, with Turkmen leaders rejecting it as unconstitutional and unacceptable.

Following uproar within and outside the country, Iraq has retracted its decision to limit the use of the Turkmen language in its northern Kirkuk province, local media reported on Thursday.

READ MORE: Iraq withdraws decision to curb use of Turkmen language in Kirkuk