Kurdish officials arrest two suspected of killing Turkish diplomat - report

The Kurdish officials have arrested two men suspected of killing Turkish diplomat in an Erbil restaurant attack, according to local media. Earlier on Saturday, Mazlum Dag, suspected to be the main killer was arrested by the Kurdistan Region Counterterrorism Unit. The suspect is a Turkish national as identified by the Kurdish agency yesterday. Later on Saturday, the officials also announced the arrest of Dizhwar Mamand Yousif for his alleged complicity in the shooting.

A shooting incident broke out inside a restaurant in Erbil on Wednesday killing two Kurdish civilians and one employee from the Turkish Consulate General. The incident was labeled as a "premeditated terrorist attack" by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Thursday.

The Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) has reportedly denied having anything to do with the incident.

In recent weeks, Turkey has been carrying out cross-border operations against the PKK in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq. The PKK is officially listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey. Ankara has been fighting the group, which demands the establishment of Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s.

Apart from Turkey, the PKK has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, the United Kingdom, and NATO member states. The United Nations, however, has not followed suit.