ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey late Wednesday refrained from claiming responsibility for the deadly attack on a tourist resort in Duhok’s Zakho district that claimed the lives of at least eight and injured dozens of others following widespread condemnation of Ankara from Erbil and Baghdad.
“We invite Iraqi government officials not to make statements under the influence of the rhetoric and propaganda of the treacherous terrorist organization,” a statement from Turkey’s foreign ministry read, referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it labels as “terrorists”, as the perpetrators of the deadly attack.
The statement adds that Turkey seeks cooperation with Iraq “in bringing the real perpetrators of this tragic incident into light.”
Deadly bombardment struck a tourist resort in Parakh village on Wednesday afternoon, with senior Iraqi officials as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) attributing the attack to Turkey. All victims of the attack came from central and southern Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi issued strong condemnations, accusing Turkey, in the aftermath of the incident that claimed the lives of Iraqis. The Iraqi foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf also told Rudaw that Iraq would make its “harshest” response yet.
Ankara frequently targets the PKK in the Kurdistan Region and on April 18 launched an operation, dubbed Claw-Lock, against the group in the mountains of Duhok province. The operation is the fourth stage of Turkey’s claw operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, with the first starting in 2019.
Iraqi officials have labeled Ankara’s recent military operation as a “hostile” and “provocative” violation of the country’s sovereignty.
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