ANKARA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday condemned the armed attack on Turkish diplomats in northern Iraq's Erbil, and urged Iraqi authorities to swiftly find killers.

"I condemn the heinous attack targeting our consulate employees in Erbil," Erdogan tweeted on Twitter.

"Turkey asked Iraqi and local authorities to swiftly find perpetrators," he added.

One Turkish consulate employee was killed in a shooting at a restaurant in northern Iraq's Erbil, the seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement.

The attack took place outside the compound of its consulate-general in Erbil, the ministry said, adding "We are continuing our efforts with the Iraqi and local authorities to find the perpetrators of the attack as soon as possible."

According to information shared by the owner of the restaurant, an attacker, wearing civilian clothes and carrying two guns, opened fire, directly targeting the consular staff when they entered the restaurant, Anadolu Agency reported.