Senior Iraqi military delegation visits Zakho to ‘assess’ border security 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A high-ranking delegation from the Iraqi armed forces arrived in the Kurdistan Region’s Zakho on Tuesday to “assess” the security situation on the Turkish-Iraqi border following last week’s deadly artillery attack, the military media said.

Headed by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Operations Command, Lieutenant-General Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, the delegation also includes the head of the Border Guards and the Iraqi Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, according to the Security Media Cell. 

The military officials are set to meet with the Border Guards in Batoufa on Iraq’s northern borders with Turkey, the Media Cell added. 

The visit follows the July 20 artillery attack against a Zakho resort that killed nine Iraqi tourists and injured over 20 more. Iraq blames Turkey for the attack. Turkey claims the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was responsible. 

A military delegation accompanied by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein visited the resort later on the day of the attack to survey the damage. Per the security assessment, the artillery was fired from a location where Turkish forces are known to have a base. 

The United Nations Security Council is set to hold a meeting on the attack on Tuesday at the request of Iraq.

The attack outraged Iraqis, who have held several demonstrations across different provinces.