Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) President Hasan Turan said Saturday that the PKK terrorist organization was behind the assassination of a former ITF officer in Kirkuk, northern Iraq.

Turan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the assassination of Ahmet Tahir was planned and that this was the method of the PKK.

"The Iraqi security authorities conveyed to us recently that the terrorist organization PKK will launch an attack on the Iraqi Turkmen Front buildings and officials in Kirkuk," he said.

Noting that they wanted the police and security forces in Kirkuk to investigate the incident seriously, Turan added that they requested the Iraqi government send an investigation committee consisting of a high-level delegation to Kirkuk and initiate an investigation.

He called on security forces to protect the offices of the ITF to prevent further attacks.

Turan underlined that such attacks would not deter the Turkmen community from continuing their presence in Kirkuk.

On Friday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the "heinous terrorist attack" as it called on Iraqi authorities to find the perpetrators.

"We are deeply saddened to learn that Ahmet Tahir, a former officer of the Iraqi Turkmen Front’s Security Department, lost his life due to an assassination today (March 3) in Kirkuk," the ministry said in a statement.

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."

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

Tahir, who was in charge of the Iraqi Turkmen Front’s Security Department, was killed in Kirkuk.