Turkmen party in Kirkuk targeted once again by unknown gunmen

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Unknown gunmen on Friday night attacked a building belonging to a Turkmen party in the eastern suburb of Kirkuk Province.

The oil-rich province has witnessed a string of unclaimed attacks since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias’ military takeover of the disputed region.

“Gunmen, overnight, threw a small bomb at the headquarters of the Turkmen Front Party building in the Askari district, east of Kirkuk,” an unnamed witness told Kurdistan 24.

The witness added that the attack did not cause any casualties, but there was physical damage to the building.

On Oct. 16, the Iraqi army and Hashd al-Shaabi stormed Kirkuk and used military force to reclaim control of the province which had been under the protection of Kurdish Peshmerga since 2014 when the Islamic State (IS) emerged.

During the extremist group’s early blitzkrieg of the country, the Iraqi army collapsed, and Peshmerga forces advanced to secure Kirkuk and other disputed territories from IS’ threat.

Kirkuk is home to a mix of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians, and is one of the most disputed territories between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

Friday night’s attack targeted the headquarters of a party whose leader was assassinated by unknown assailants earlier this month.

No one has claimed responsibility for either incident which comes at a time where killings, robberies, kidnappings, and other criminal activities are on the rise in Kirkuk since the takeover by Iraqi forces and Shia militias.