Turkey condemns armed attack on Turkmen academic

By Nilay Kar Onum

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey condemned Tuesday’s armed attack that killed Turkmen academic Ali Elmas in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

In a written statement, the Foreign Ministry said: “We’ve learned with great sorrow that our Turkmen [brother] Ali Elmas, who was working at the University of Kirkuk, was killed in yesterday’s armed attack in Kirkuk.”

“We are monitoring with concern the recent increase of attacks targeting our Turkmen [brothers] in Kirkuk and we condemn these heinous attacks in the strongest terms,” the statement said.

“We expect that those who conducted and instigated these attacks be brought to justice as soon as possible.”

In the statement, the ministry also reiterated its call on Iraqi authorities to take immediate necessary measures to provide security in the city.

Ali Elmas, who was an academic at the Faculty of Law at the University of Kirkuk was shot dead by unidentified people in Kirkuk's city center on Tuesday.