Today, Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi accused the Turkish forces of committing what he described as a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty, in reference to the bombing that killed 8 Iraqi tourists, targeting a resort in Zakho district in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. No comment has been received from the Turkish side so far. .

Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned what he said was Turkish bombing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

In a tweet on Twitter, Saleh considered the attack a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and that its repetition was unacceptable and threatened Iraqi national security.

The Iraqi president said - in his tweet - that such actions are contrary to international law and the rules of good neighborliness.

The Turkish bombing of Dohuk, which resulted in the death and injury of a number of our sons, is condemned and denounced, and represents a violation of the country’s sovereignty and a threat to Iraqi national security, and its repetition is totally unacceptable after previous calls to stop such actions contrary to international law and the rules of good neighborliness.

— Barham Salih (@BarhamSalih) July 20, 2022

And the Security Media Cell in Iraq reported that the bombing of the Barkh tourist resort in the town of Darkar in the Dohuk governorate, which led to the death of 8 Iraqi tourists and the wounding of 23 visitors to the resort.

Iraqi security sources said that the Barkh resort is frequented by tourists from various Iraqi governorates, noting that the condition of a number of the injured is serious.

She explained that the people in Dohuk governorate rushed to transport the injured in their private cars to the city's hospitals, while ambulance teams took the initiative to complete the transfers of the injured.

after the bombing

The sources indicated that the bombing caused panic and panic inside the resort and left white smoke, and the eight dead were 3 women, 3 men and 2 children, according to Amir Ali, spokesman for the Zakho Health Department.

Mushir Bashir, mayor of Zakho, said that the majority of the victims are "Iraqi tourists who often go to these areas with moderate temperatures to escape the heat in the center and south of the country," noting that "Turkey bombed the village of Barkh twice today."

The serious cases of a number of wounded in the bombing (French)

In turn, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi called on the Iraqi government to investigate the bombing, and said in a tweet on his personal account on Twitter, "Iraq should not be an open arena for settling regional accounts and foreign conflicts, for which Iraqis pay blood bills in vain."

Iraq should not be an open arena for settling regional scores and foreign conflicts, for which Iraqis pay bills of blood in vain.

We call on the government to take the necessary measures to investigate and to adopt all means;

To save the country and protect the people.

— Mohammed Al-Halbousi (@AlHaLboosii) July 20, 2022

Prior to that, the Iraqi government condemned the bombing, and confirmed in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that "these positions represent a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and a clear threat to the safe civilians, a number of whom were martyred and others were injured as a result of this act."

The statement added, "This attack is a targeting of the security of Iraq and the stability of its people, and as we affirm our categorical rejection of these violations that violate international covenants and laws, we point out that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi directed the formation of an investigation committee headed by Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein and the membership of a number of security leaders, with the aim of identifying details." accurate about the reasons for the bombing, and the highest levels of diplomatic response will be taken, starting with resorting to the Security Council, as well as adopting all other measures decided in this regard.”

Senior security delegation

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Baghdad, Samer Youssef, stated that some information indicates that the prime minister asked to collect details of all the repeated Turkish attacks on Iraqi territory, he said, in order to present them to the UN Security Council.

The reporter added that a high-level security delegation headed to the place of the bombing, and the delegation included leaders in the army and the director of the office of Prime Minister Al-Kazemi, given that the latter is the commander of the armed forces, and the delegation also included the deputy commander of joint operations in the army.

pic.twitter.com/6YDrxNIvc6

— Muqtada al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr (@Mu_AlSadr) July 20, 2022

Al-Jazeera correspondent added that the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called for an escalation of the situation with Turkey after the bombing, by closing the Iraqi crossings and airports in the face of Turkey, reducing diplomatic representation between the two countries, and canceling security agreements between the two sides if Ankara continues to carry out such attacks.

Turkish side

On the other hand, a source in the Turkish Defense Ministry told AFP that "we have no information that confirms or indicates bombing in this area."

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ankara, Al-Moataz Billah Hassan, said that there is no Turkish comment on what happened in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, neither at the official level nor in the Turkish media.

The correspondent added that Turkey has stressed in the past few days that its military operations target the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside Iraqi territory, a party that Ankara classifies as a terrorist group.

The border areas with Turkey in Iraq are witnessing frequent tension and violence. In mid-April, Turkey - which has established military bases in northern Iraq for 25 years - announced the implementation of a new operation against the PKK militants, and the operation - which was called "claw lock" - After the "Tiger's Claw" and "Eagle Claw" operations launched by the Turkish army in northern Iraq in 2020.

But these operations exacerbate pressure on relations between Ankara and Baghdad, which accuses Turkey of violating its territorial integrity, even though the two countries are important trading partners.

In late May, two children were killed when rockets fell on orchards in the Kurdistan region.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party - which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a "terrorist" organization - has been waging an insurgency against Turkey since 1984, and is based in remote mountainous areas of Iraq.