A deadly attack was carried out in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) on a Kurd who had fled Turkey for political reasons. Huseyin Türeli was shot dead in Duhok on Monday evening. According to RojNews, the attack took place at 9 pm local time at Türeli's workplace in a shopping centre. According to the report, nine shots were fired at Türeli, who was hit by seven bullets and died on the way to hospital.

Hüseyin Türeli had been targeted by another attack in May last year. According to RojNews, he stated at the time that the attack had been carried out by the Turkish secret service (MIT). Three days before the failed attack, on 17 May 2022, a restaurant owner, Mehmet Zeki Çelebi, was shot dead in the open street in Sulaymaniyah. The MIT is also suspected to be behind this assassination.

The HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) representation office in KRI held a press conference in Hewler (Erbil) and stated that MIT was behind the deadly attack on Türeli.

“Increasingly ongoing attacks in South Kurdistan since 2021 have claimed the lives of Yasin Bulut, Zeki Çelebi, Nagihan Akarsel and Mamoste Şemal. These attacks by MIT are a result of the pressure and threats against politicians who moved to South Kurdistan from North Kurdistan. The killer of Hüseyin Türeli is an AKP-MHP member. We condemn this savage attack and call on the officials in Duhok to find the perpetrator as soon as possible and not to let him get away with it.”