The Iraqi Security and Defense Committee in a meeting to discuss the Zakho bombardment on July 24, 2022. Photo: Iraqi parliament
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi Security and Defense Committee on Sunday stressed the need to put an end to Turkey’s “repeated” attacks in Iraq, in response to the deadly bombardment that targeted Duhok earlier this week which has been blamed on Ankara.
Nine Iraqi civilians were killed and 23 others injured as a result of artillery shelling that struck a tourist site in Duhok’s Zakho district on Wednesday. Erbil and Baghdad have blamed Turkey for the attack but Ankara has denied its troops were responsible, pointing the finger to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) instead.
The parliamentary committee held an emergency meeting on Sunday, seeking to devise “effective solutions” to Turkey’s “violations of Iraqi sovereignty,” according to a statement from the parliament, adding that recommendations will be made to the legislature following a joint meeting with the Foreign Relations Committee.
The committee also highlighted the need to stop PKK activities in Iraq, noting the importance of deploying Iraqi forces on its borders with Turkey, as well as setting up thermal cameras to detect members of the armed group.
The Iraqi Foreign Relations Committee also held a meeting on Sunday tackling the same subject.
The Iraqi government has pursued a number of diplomatic steps to address the recent attack on its sovereignty, including filing an official complaint to the United Nations’ Security Council, handing a “strongly worded” protest note to Turkey’s ambassador to Iraq, as well as asking the neighboring country to issue an official apology and withdraw its forces from Iraqi land.
Ankara has established an increasing number of bases and outposts in the Kurdistan Region, claiming that its presence is aimed at cutting off the path of the PKK and preventing them from crossing into the Kurdish areas of southeast Turkey.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Ankara launched a military operation against the group in Duhok province on April 18. It said it was targeting PKK hideouts in the mountainous areas of the province’s Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan.