ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The body of a Kurdish teenager was laid to rest by his family in Kirkuk on Tuesday, days after Iraqi counterterrorism forces falsely identified him as a suspected Islamic State (ISIS) member, following a clash with ISIS remnants which also led to the death of another bystander; another Kurdish teenager.

On Sunday, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) said its forces had engaged three “terrorist” ISIS members in Kirkuk’s Pirde (Altun Kupri), killing two and arresting another. It said the operation was carried out “in accordance with judicial orders.” The clash took place near a warehouse.

It was later revealed that the skirmish resulted in the death of a Kurdish teenager named Murad Zana, while another Kurdish young man, Mohammed Hemin, who was near the warehouse during the shooting, went missing.

The ICTS statement did not disclose the identities of the ISIS suspects, making it uncertain if Murad was included in the initial toll. Mohammed, however, was confirmed to have been wounded in the clashes and apprehended by the security forces under suspicion of being an ISIS member. He later succumbed to his wounds while in custody.

Two days after their son went missing, Mohammed’s family were notified by authorities on Tuesday to come and pick up his body at Kirkuk’s forensic medicine department.

The New Region spoke with Mohammed’s family, who said the Iraqi forces had killed their son and labeled him an ISIS member. They also added that his head had been decapitated.

The family said they had searched for Mohammed after the clashes, identifying his mutilated body at the morgue through a tattoo on his arm.

Kurdish lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament Mazin Gharib told The New Region on Tuesday that security forces had apologized for the false identification, and said there had been a misunderstanding.

Hasan Majid, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc on Kirkuk’s provincial council, during a Tuesday presser called on Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to form a committee to investigate the circumstances of the incident “as soon as possible” and “point out those negligent in this case.”

Majid reiterated his support for the security forces’ counterterrorism efforts but said: “Those operations can be done with greater accuracy in designating targets.”

"The forces should have coordinated with security parties before carrying out the attack,” he said.

Kirkuk Governor Mehmet Seman, leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, said in a statement on Tuesday that he had directed Kirkuk’s Martyrs Foundation to “process the case of martyr Mohammed Hemin and guarantee his rights” and to “support his family.”

Seman said on Monday that he had also directed the foundation to purse the same process for Murad’s case.

The KDP’s Kirkuk and Garmiyan-Khanaqin Organization Bureau on Tuesday expressed “deep concern” and conveyed condolences to the families of the victims.

The bureau also called on Zaidi, Iraq’s Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, “to urgently form a special and impartial committee to investigate the causes and facts of this unfortunate Pirde incident, so that the results are made public and strict legal measures are taken against those who were negligent.”

Kirkuk’s Supreme Security Committee held an extraordinary meeting chaired by Seman on Monday, attended by Iraqi lawmakers and security officials. The committee offered condolences to Murad’s family while praising “the achievements, efforts and sacrifices of the security forces in combating terrorism, criminal gangs and drug trafficking.”

The tragic killing of misidentification of the two Kurdish teenagers by the Iraqi state’s main counterterrorism force comes on the eve of the complete withdrawal of the US-led coalition against ISIS; a withdrawal that has been long demanded by successive Iraqi governments, hailing the “alertness” of the country’s security bodies and therefore lack of need for foreign troops’ presence.

Mohammed was buried in Kirkuk’s Rahimawa cemetery on Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by family, loved ones, and hundreds of the city’s Kurdish civilians who were moved and outraged by his story.