UN urges 'prompt' probe into deadly Zakho shelling

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations on Thursday called for a “prompt and thorough” investigation into the deadly bombardment that struck a tourist resort in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province earlier in the week, killing and injuring tens of civilians in an attack blamed on Turkey.

Nine Iraqi tourists were killed and 23 others injured as a result of artillery shelling that targeted Duhok’s Zakho district on Wednesday. Erbil and Baghdad have attributed the attack to Turkey but Ankara has denied its troops were responsible, blaming the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) instead. 

“The [UN] Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] calls for a prompt and thorough investigation into the incident to determine the circumstances surrounding the attack and to ensure accountability,” read a statement from the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq. 

The incident was widely condemned by the international community, including the US and the UK. 

Germany on Thursday also called for an urgent investigation into the attack, saying "there must urgently be light shed on the circumstances of the attack and those responsible.” 

Protests were held in some Iraqi provinces the day following the attack, with demonstrators calling for the expulsion of the Turkish ambassador to Iraq and the reduction of diplomatic ties with Ankara.

Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for Iraq's foreign ministry, told Iraqi state media on Thursday that all the signs point toward Turkey being behind the attack, denying Ankara’s claims of having an agreement with Baghdad to enter Iraqi land.

“Turkey's denial of responsibility [for the attack] is a dark joke that Iraqi diplomacy will not accept,” he added.

Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi late Thursday held a meeting with President Barham Salih, Parliamentary Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, and heads of political blocs in Baghdad to discuss the country’s upcoming “security, political, and diplomatic” steps in response to the bombardment, including filing an official complaint to the UN and the Security Council.

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.