KNK representative assassinated in Iraqi Kurdistan capital

A representative of Kurdish National Congress (KNK) was assassinated on Monday at KNK's offices in Iraqi Kurdistan's capital Erbil, Roj News reported.

KNK's Erbil representative Deniz Cevdet Bulbun was fatally shot by an unidentified assailant, Roj News said.

Bulbun is originally from Turkey's Kurdish-majority district of Yuksekova, and was married.

Brussels-based KNK is a platform for Kurdish groups and parties. It was founded in 1985 on the initiative of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Pro-Kurdish Green Left Party in Turkey condemned the attack, saying it was the unity of Kurds that was targeted by the attack.

It noted that around the time Bulbun was assassinated, Arbat airport in Sulaymaniyah was targeted in an attack and an air strike was carried out in Yazidi homeland Sinjar.

No statement on the Erbil attack has been made yet by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials.

Assassinations in Iraqi Kurdistan

Many Kurdish political activists have been assassinated in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) in recent years.

Huseyin Arasan, who had fled Turkey after serving years of prison time over "terror" charges was fatally shot in June by an unidentified assailant in Sulaymaniyah.

Huseyin Tureli was fatally shot in front of his pastry shop in the city of Duhok in April. He had fled Turkey 10 years earlier after facing prison time.

Zeki Celebi, feminist activist Nagihan Akarsel and Suheyl Hursid Aziz were killed in Sulaymaniyah last year.

Yasin Bulut was killed in 2021 in Sulaymaniyah as he was visiting the city for medical treatment.