Kurdistan Region releases suspect confession in Turkish diplomat slaying

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Security authorities in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) released a video confessions on Friday of six suspects admitting involvement in this month's killing of a Turkish diplomat.

 

The Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) released video showing CCTV footage of the incident inside HuQQabaz restaurant and a video confession of the primary suspect. Five others — three from the IKR and three Turkish nationals — were arrested by the security (Asayesh) authorities in Erbil for their alleged collaboration. One named Siyako from the Kurdistan Region did not appear in the video confessions.

 

“My name is Mazlum Mohammed Zaki. I was born in Diyarbakir in 1992. I came to Kurdistan in 2015 to work," said the individual who also goes by the name Mazlum Dag.

 

"My brother Ibrahim was already here. He was involved in politics and he was sentenced [in Turkey] so he came to Erbil. He could not visit Turkey. Another brother of mine, Ismail, had joined the PKK in 1998 but was martyred in 2003 in a battle in Bakur [north Kurdistan],” he added, referring to areas in southern Turkey which some Kurds consider to be part of a greater Kurdistan.

Confessions, even of those in custody, are frequently considered by courts as proof in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of a suspect’s guilt in a crime.

 

He said that another of his brothers also was active politically in Turkey and wanted to join the PKK in the mountains of Qandil in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Dag said he visited Qandil and joined the PKK through his brother, Ibrahim, who introduced him to an individual named Fatih (Botan). 

“I stayed with them [PKK in Qandil] for about 26 days. During these 26 days, I became familiar with their lifestyle," Dag explained.

 

There, Dag says he learned to shoot: “Fatih had a corpse which we used for training." Then Dag says Fatih asked him to smuggle clothes and shoes from the Kurdistan Region to Qandil and agreed. 

The PKK gave him the address of someone named Rajab Baqi Bradosti, to stay at his house at night and could gain support from Dijwar (also known as Mamand) in Erbil, Dag detailed. He says he already knew Dijwar but as Mamand. 

Dijwar, then according to Dag, showed a photograph of Osman Kose to Dag asking him to monitor the Turkish consular employee. 
 
After watching Kose for a while, Dag took some photographs and videos of Kose and sent them to Fatih in Qandil who requested that Dag kill the Turkish consular employee.

 

More CCTV footage released by the Kurdistan Region Security Council on Friday of the moments when the Turkish Consulate employee was slain on July 17 at a restaurant in Erbil
READ MORE: https://t.co/Z8f5CVZIfd pic.twitter.com/JJ2bMFsIiy

— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) July 26, 2019

 

“I told him that I cannot kill him [Kose] by myself, as he has two guards. They sent me two Kurdish people, Alan and Ahmed, from Bakur. They came and brought with themselves silenced pistols and a fake license plate number for the car," Dag said.

 

On the day of the shooting, Dag, Dijwar, Alan and Ahmed met somewhere in Erbil and Dijwar told him the whereabouts of Kose who was dining at HuQQabaz restaurant. 

“We then went to a cemetery and attached the fake plate number to our car and checked the restaurant, seeing that Osman Kose was there with two other people," Dag said.

During the shooting, Dag was wounded. “I exited but my right leg was hit by a bullet. Ahmed fell down and his head was bleeding but I did not know the reason," Dag explained.

The attackers later got into their car informed Fatih that the mission was accomplished, according to Dag, so they went to Rajab’s house and to receive treatment. 

At dusk on July 18, they received news that that Rajab had been arrested. Dag said he had asked Sidqi, Rajab’s brother, to take them out of Erbil but Sidqi said that he could not because of security checkpoints. 

Ayub Ibrahim Mala Ahmed Bradosti hosted them for a night. However, they were detained by Asayesh trying to leave Erbil on 120 Meter Road in Muhsin Salih's car, according to Dag.  

 

According to the KRSC, Dag was born on November 11, 1992. He holds Turkish citizenship and lists his occupation as a "laborer."

 

Kurdish security authorities arrest 6 suspects

KRSC revealed they have so far arrested six people, including Dag: three from Turkey and three from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

“Three people who assisted the perpetrators of the incident are from Kurdistan Region," the KRSC stated. 

It also said investigations are underway to arrest some other people “who have connections with the incident.”

 

Below are their remarks as released by the KRSC on Friday:

 

The KRSC released video confessions of six people suspected of orchestrating the killing of a Turkish Consulate employee on July 17, 2019.  Image: Rudaw via KRSC.

Dijwar (Abdulraman Er)

“I was born in 1986 in Siirt. I joined the PKK in 2006. I was known in the PKK as Dijwar or Mamad. I stayed in mountains from 2006-2016. At the end of 2016, I came to Makhmour and continued my relations [with the PKK]," he said in the video.

Dijwar says he failed to convince the people of Makhmour to work with them, so he headed to Erbil where he met others: Mazlum Dag, Rajab, Ismail and Siyako. 

“Our relations were very strong," he said.

Dijwar says he was walking in Erbil when the incident took place, waiting for Mazlum’s phone call. When Mazlum broke the news to Dijwar, Dijwar passed it to Botan in Qandil who told Dijwar not to call him again. 

He said that Ayub took them to Baharka Road, where he and Mazlum Dag split up, but soon the Asayesh arrested them.

“My name is Ismail Khalil Mohammed (Ismail Gecici). I was born in born in 1988 in Urfa. I came to Erbil, Kurdistan Region in 2015 to work. After some time, I met Dijwar who was from the ranks of the PKK,” said Ismail in the video.

He says that he met Mazlum Dag through Dijwar and was tasked by Dijwar to go to a cemetery near Family Mall to take Dag to Rajab’s house for treatment after the shooting.

Rajab Baqi Bradosti

“My name is Rajab Baqi Bradosti. I am originally from Sidakan but I have lived in Erbil for the last few years, meeting some members of the PKK including Mamad or Dijwar,” he said in the video.

He gave first aid to Dag who had visited his house.

Following the shooting, he says that he was asked by Dijwar to check 60 Meter Road to see how the security forces were dealing with the case and to visit the cemetery to see if the car they had left was still there.

Ayub Ibrahim

Ayub works at Zozk Company owned by Sidqi who called him to take the others to find a house. 

According to the video, Ibrahim says he took the others to Baharka Road and then returned home.

Sidqi Bradosti

Sidqi confessed in the video that he tried to help the others get out of Erbil but failed.

How did the PKK-Turkish state feud land in Kurdistan Region capital?

 

The July 17 shooting took place at a Turkish restaurant in the upmarket Empire complex in Erbil. Turkish official Osman Kose and two Kurdish civilians died when three gunmen opened fire with pistols fitted with suppressors. 

Turkey has begun "neutralizing" alleged planners of the incident in which the diplomat and two Kurdish civilians died. Ankara's actions are based on the premise that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was involved in the attack.

 

On Wednesday, senior PKK commander Bahoz Erdal denied the armed group was involved in the “amateur” Erbil attack, but praised the perpetrators for killing a “blood sucker”.