ZAKHO: Baghdad on Wednesday blamed neighbouring Turkiye, a nation engaged in a cross-border war, for the artillery fire that killed nine civilians, including at least two children, in a park in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
The artillery firing was referred to as a “flagrant infringement” of sovereignty by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, who issued an extremely harsh condemnation to Turkiye. He also warned Turkiye that Iraq has the “right to retaliate.”
Turkey, however, denied Iraqi assertions that it was responsible for the strike and referred to it as a terrorist action.
The Kurdistan Workers Party and other terrorist organisations are targets of counterterrorism operations by Turkiye, which has taken great care to prevent civilian casualties and damage to historic and cultural monuments, according to the foreign ministry.Turkish military activities, the ministry added, were compliant with international rules. “Turkeyye is ready to take every step for the truth to come out,” the ministry said in its statement.
It continued, referring to the PKK, “We urge on the Iraqi authorities to not make remarks influenced by the language and propaganda of the atrocious terrorist organisation, and to engage in cooperation to find the perpetrators of this horrible deed.”
In April, Turkey began a campaign in northern Iraq known as “Operation Claw-Lock,” which it claimed was directed at KWP fighters (PKK).According to Mushir Bashir, the head of the Zakho region, the deceased were vacationers from Iraq who had travelled to the mountainous village of Parakh in the Zakho district to escape the country’s scorching southern weather. A source in the Turkish defence ministry claimed that there was “no information reporting or confirming artillery fire in this area” despite the fact that “Turkey hit the village twice today.”
Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the artillery attacks, according to Amir Ali, a health officer in Zakho. Eight people, including two children, had been killed, according to him previously.
