ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkmen community leader was injured in an explosion in Kirkuk on Saturday, according to the Turkmen Front political party, which said the blast was an attempt to “create chaos” between groups in the multi-ethnic city.
At least five people were injured by an improvised explosive device in the Musalla neighborhood of Kirkuk, an unnamed police source told Rudaw.
The head of the Turkmen Front in Kirkuk, Qahtan al-Wandawi, told Rudaw he believes that the attack was directed at Saygin Haceroglu, who runs the Turkmen Cultural House, which is affiliated with the party.
Haceroglu was severely injured.
Hasan Turan, the leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, denounced the attack in a statement, calling it an “act of terrorism intended to destabilize the city.”
“This treacherous assault on Turkmen leaders clearly demonstrates the intent of terrorist organizations to threaten the security and stability of the region. It is seen as a desperate attempt to disrupt national unity and create chaos among its components,” Turan said.
Turan called on Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani “to intervene, safeguard the security and stability achieved following the law enforcement operation [against ISIS] in Kirkuk, take all necessary measures, and ensure that those responsible for this terrorist act are brought to justice.”
No party has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The police are investigating.
Kirkuk continues to be a focal point for ethnic tensions, amid frequent hit-and-run attacks by Islamic State (ISIS) sleeping cells.
On Wednesday, at least four Iraqi soldiers were killed in a suspected ISIS ambush in western Kirkuk. At least six suspected ISIS members, including a leader, were killed in an operation carried out by Iraqi forces in Kirkuk on September 19.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
The militants have taken shelter in a security vacuum that exists in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Nineveh, and Diyala.
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