Duhok border security chief fatally shot at home: statement

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The head of security at a border crossing in Duhok province was fatally shot by unknown gunmen at his home on Thursday evening, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official has told Rudaw.

Ghazi Salih, the head of KDP-affiliated security forces (Asayesh) at Sarzer border crossing in the Amedi district of Duhok, was shot at 6:30 pm at his home in the village of Galik, said Musa Kestayi, an official at the KDP's district office. 

Salih, 47, died from his injuries while being taken to hospital in Zakho, Kestayi said.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) later confirmed and condemned the shooting, adding that Salih was killed by "terrorists who had threatened him for a while."

"The perpetrators will surely be made to pay," read the KRSC statement released on Thursday night.

Both Sarzer border crossing and Galik are in Kani Masi, a sub-district of Amedi that borders Turkey. Regular clashes between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish army take place in Kuna Masi.

                      
Updated at 10:11 pm

Additional reporting by Nasr Ali