9 civilians killed, 23 wounded in Turkish artillery fire in Kurdistan region
Security forces gathering outside a hospital in Zakho after the Turkish artillery strikes. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Nine civilians, including two children, were killed and 23 others were wounded in a summer resort in the hill village of Parakh in Zakho district of Duhok governorate in Kurdistan region on Wednesday by Turkish artillery fire, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Iraq Security Media Cell (ISMC) mentioned in a statement that a summer resort in the hill village of Parakh in Kurdistan region was struck by Turkish artillery at 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday killing nine Iraqis and wounding 23 others. Tourists come here to escape the high temperatures in southern and central Iraq.
The statement added that the Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, ordered an immediate investigation into the attack, and dispatched the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, his Personal Secretary and the Commander of the Border Guard Forces to the scene of the attack to find out its circumstances and visit those wounded.
Iraqi media outlets mentioned that a Turkish aircraft targeted a tourist site in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, indicating that a Turkish artillery fire targeting Zakho district in Kurdistan region killed civilians and wounded others.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the bombing of the resort in Barkh village took place after 20 tourist buses entered the site.
“I arrived in one of the 20 buses. 15 minutes upon our arrival, heavy shelling with at least 5 missiles targeted civilians in the resort. I have a friend whose hand was cut off, and I saw an old man dying with his daughters,” an eyewitness told INA.
Al-Kadhimi directed concerned officials to prepare a complete file of the ongoing Turkish violations to be submitted to the UN Security Council, a diplomatic source told INA.
The National Security Council in Iraq held a meeting later on Wednesday, headed by Al-Kadhimi, to respond to the Turkish attacks.