Zakho resort attack | |
---|---|
Part of Operation Claw-Lock | |
Location | Zakho District, Kurdistan Region, Iraq |
Date | 11:16, 20 July 2022 11:30, 20 July 2022 (1 year, 6 months and 3 weeks ago) | –
Attack type | Artillery strikes |
Deaths | 9 (including 2 children) |
Injured | 33 |
Victims | Vacationing tourists |
Perpetrators | Turkey (Iraqi and Kurdish claim) PKK (Turkish claim) |
On 20 July 2022, the Barakh tourist resort in the Zakho District of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was shelled with four or five artillery strikes. The attack killed nine civilians, including two children,[1][2] and injured 33 others.[3]
The Iraqi federal government and Kurdish authorities claim that Turkish Armed Forces was behind the attack,[4][5] while the Turkish government denied this and suspected PKK to be responsible.[6][7][8] The Iraqi Foreign Minister claimed that the PKK was not in the area at the time of the attack and that it was Turkey that attacked.[9]
All of the victims were Arab tourists from central and southern parts of Iraq.[10]
The Government of Iraq and United Nations both denounced the attack and ordered an investigation into what had happened.[11][12]
Both the autonomous Kurdish region and federal authorities, including Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kadhimi placed the culpability on the Turkish Armed Forces.[13][11] The cabinet instructed the Minister of the Exterior to summon the Turkish envoy to Iraq and to demand its Iraqi counterpart in Turkey to come to Baghdad for consultation.[14] Turkey denied responsibility for the attack and instead suspected terrorist groups to be responsible, offering to open a collaborative investigation into the incident.[15][12]
Turkish consular offices issuing visas were closed down by protests in Najaf as well as in Kerbala, and the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad was besieged.[16] The protesters demanded the Turkish ambassador to be expelled.[4]