Iraq’s Duhok governorate condemns PKK killing Iraqi national

The governorate of Iraq's northern Duhok province condemned the killing of an Iraqi national by the PKK terrorist organization on Tuesday.

"We condemn the kidnapping, detention, imprisonment and martyrdom of Duhok citizen Jotyar Muhsin Hussein by the PKK," the governorate said in a statement.

The statement underlined that the arrest warrant and imprisonment may only be ordered by judicial institutions within the limits of the law.

Describing PKK's recent practices as "illegal" and "inhumane," the statement said these actions aim to put pressure on the people of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

An Iraqi national was among the 13 people killed by PKK terrorists in Gara, in northern Iraq, a local authority in eastern Turkey announced Monday.

The Governor's Office in Malatya province said in a statement that the identities of 12 Turkish citizens were disclosed to the public after autopsies were conducted at a forensic lab.

On Feb. 14, Turkey's defense chief announced that 13 bodies were found during Turkey's anti-terror operation in Gara. Initially, it was believed that all of them were Turkish nationals. However, after the autopsy, it was confirmed that the 13th body belonged to Jotyar Muhsin Hussein, an Iraqi national.

The body was returned to the family and was buried in his village in Duhok.

The PKK managed to establish a foothold in Iraq, particularly in the Sinjar region in mid-2014 on the pretext of protecting the local Yazidi community from Daesh terrorists. Since then, the PKK has reportedly established a new command base in Sinjar to carry out logistical activities.

Turkey has long been stressing that it will not tolerate threats posed to its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorists. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps were not taken, it would not shy away from targeting the group.