Two people, including the Turkish vice consul to Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, were killed on Wednesday during an attack in the regional capital of Erbil.

The attack took place at a restaurant where Turkish diplomats working at the Erbil consulate had gone for lunch, state-run Anadolu News Agency said.

Two armed gunmen entered the restaurant and opened fire, it said, killing the diplomat and an Iraqi civilian.

Checkpoints were quickly set up inside and around the neighbourhood of Ainkawa, where the Turkish consulate and numerous restaurants are situated.

The attack has not been claimed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the attack in statement on Twitter.

“I condemn the henious attack on our diplomats in Erbil. I wish God's mercy upon our diplomat who was martyred in the attack,” Erdoğan said. “Turkey asked Iraqi and regional authorities to swiftly find perpetrators.”