Turkey condemns car bomb attack outside Iraqi ballot box store
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ankara (Iraqinews.com) – Turkey condemned on Sunday a car bomb attack that targeted a site housing ballot boxes from May 12 parliamentary elections in Kirkuk.
“We strongly condemn this terrorist attack, wish Allah’s mercy upon our Iraqi brother who lost his life, speedy recovery to the wounded, and convey our condolences to the relatives of the deceased,” the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on its official website.
The ministry added that it received with sorrow initial reports that one person was killed and 21 others were injured as a result of the suicide attack that was caused by a bomb-laden vehicle at a warehouse in Kirkuk, where ballots are kept.
“We expect the relevant Iraqi authorities to rapidly and transparently complete the investigation regarding the fraud and irregularity allegations about the elections in Kirkuk and take all necessary measures to provide security in the province,” the statement read.
Earlier in the day, an Iraqi security source said that at least 21 persons were killed and injured after a car exploded outside a ballot box storage site in Kirkuk.
“A suicide bomber driving a car blew himself up outside the gate of the presidential complex in Kirkuk, leaving one person dead and 20 others wounded,” the source told Baghdad Today website.
The source pointed out that most of those injured in the bomb attack are police officers stationed to protect the site, where a manual recount of parliamentary election votes was scheduled to take place.