BAGHDAD, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdish security forces of Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan arrested at least 12 suspected terrorists, who were planning to launch attacks against diplomats inside the region, a Kurdish security council said on Monday.

A statement by the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), which oversees intelligence and security in the Kurdish region, said that the terrorists are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and were arrested after tracking them for four months.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.

"The suspects planned to attack a foreign diplomatic mission in Erbil, assassinate members of that foreign mission, and carry out attacks on private companies from that country operating in the region," the statement said without naming the foreign country.

The suspects also have links to other individuals in other countries, including in Europe, it added.

The regional authorities also requested assistance from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to extradite the collaborators with these terrorists who live in other countries, it added.

Moreover, the statement said that the Kurdish security forces arrested 15 other suspects in two operations accused of planning assassinations and attacks against Kurdish officials and institutions inside the region.

On July 17, 2019, a Turkish consulate employee and a civilian were killed while another person was wounded when gunmen opened fire at a restaurant in the regional capital Erbil, some 375 km north of Iraqi capital Baghdad. Enditem

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