ANKARA- Turkey called on its citizens to leave northern Iraq before flights are suspended on Friday in response to the Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Turkey will suspend flights to the northern Iraqi cities of Erbil and Sulaimaniya from 1500 GMT on Friday. The decision will impact Turkish Airlines THYAO.IS , Pegasus PGSUS.IS , and Atlas Global flights.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Daren Butler) ((ece.toksabay@tr.com; +90 312 2927022; Reuters Messaging: ece.toksabay.reuters.com@reuters.net))