Turkey condoles death of Italian diplomat in attack

By Havva Kara Aydin

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish foreign minister on Monday offered his condolences on the death of an Italian diplomat in an attack on a UN convoy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a tweet, Mevlut Cavusoglu tagged his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio and wrote: “Deeply shocked and saddened by the demise of Ambassador Luca Attanasio of #Italy and a Carabinieri officer in a horrific attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Heartfelt condolences to friendly Italy, bereaved families and the Italian nation."

Attanasio, 43, was among three people killed in the attack on a UN convoy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Italian police officer Vittorio Iacovacci, 30, and their Congolese World Food Program driver – whose name has not been released – also died.

According to local sources, the convoy was attacked in an attempted kidnapping near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.