PKK terrorists behind killing of Turkmen leader in Iraq

Perpetrators of an "unidentified" drone attack in Iraq's Turkmeneli region that claimed the life of tribe leader Huseyin Allosh Bayatli have emerged as the terrorist group PKK.

The Sunni tribal leader from the Turkmen minority was killed when a drone dropped an explosive near his guesthouse in the central Kifri district of Sulaymaniyah on Sunday, sources reported on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Ersat Salihi, chairperson of the Turkmen Group in the Iraqi Parliament and Kirkuk MP of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) on Tuesday announced that the terrorist organisation PKK was behind the targeted killing.

"PKK gangs are systematically shedding the blood of civilian Turkmens in Iraq," Salihi said in a statement, calling on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to show solidarity in expelling the terrorist organisation from the region.

He stressed that they hold the prime minister, political groups and the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) responsible for the safety of Turkmens in Kifri.

Bayatli was a cherished figure in the Iraqi Turkmen community who staunchly supported his people.

While the attack was initially reported as unidentified, the perpetrators were evident as the separatist PKK terrorist organisation and its affiliates are the only group known to carry out such attacks in the region.

PKK has long been seeking to undermine and even cleanse Turks in the region, including in the district of Kifri, where Turks coexist alongside Kurds.

Iraq last month designated the PKK as a banned organisation within its borders in a significant step forward in the fight against terrorism.