Iraq summons Turkish envoy over deadly resort attack

The ministry’s spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf previously told the state media that his country would file a complaint at the United Nations Security Council over the strike.
Iraqi mourners carry the caskets of a woman and her niece, killed in artillery bombardment of a Kurdish hill village, during their funeral at the Imam Ali shrine, in Iraq's Najaf, July 21, 2022. (Photo: Qassem Al-Kaabi/AFP)
Iraqi mourners carry the caskets of a woman and her niece, killed in artillery bombardment of a Kurdish hill village, during their funeral at the Imam Ali shrine, in Iraq's Najaf, July 21, 2022. (Photo: Qassem Al-Kaabi/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday summoned Turkish Ambassador Ali Riza Guney over Wednesday’s deadly bombardment against a tourist resort in the Kurdistan Region.

The envoy was handed a “strongly worded note” denouncing the attack, which killed at least nine Arab tourists and injured more than 20 at the Parakh holiday resort in Duhok province, according to a statement from the ministry.

The ministry asked Turkey to end its military operations inside Iraq and withdraw its troops, who have been fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) group in the autonomous region for decades.

Ankara denies that it had targeted civilians in its operations. Iraqi officials, however, have said that “all indications” are that the artillery bombardment came from the Turkish forces stationed on a nearby mountain near the Iraqi-Turkish border.

The ministry’s spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf previously told the state media that his country would file a complaint at the United Nations Security Council over the strike.

The bodies of the tourists were transferred to their families from Erbil International Airport in a formal ceremony attended by the Kurdistan Region’s top officials, including President Nechirvan Barzani.

Extending his condolences, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani described the incident as an “unspeakable act” while expressing his government’s willingness to cooperate with Baghdad and the international community to end these violations.

“We will be with you and we will do everything in our power to help ease your suffering,” Barzani told the families of the victims in his televised message.