Turkish airstrikes have killed eight tourists in northern Iraq and wounded more than 20, local officials and the Iraqi military said. At least four rockets hit the Barakh resort in the Zakho region of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, the region’s mayor, Mushir Mohammed, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. All the victims were Iraqi citizens. The dead included three men, three women and two children, Zakho health official Amir Ali told reporters. Hundreds of Iraqi tourists come to the Kurdish region from the south during the peak summer months because the weather is relatively cooler. The tourist sites in Zaho are close to military bases established by Turkey. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Qadimi sent a delegation to the region led by Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein and ordered an investigation into the incident. Turkey regularly conducts airstrikes in northern Iraq and has sent commandos to support its attacks targeting elements of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Wednesday’s attack marked the first time tourists have been killed in Turkey’s frequent attacks in the region, officials said. In April, Turkey launched a new offensive in areas of northern Iraq called Operation Claw-Lock – part of a series of cross-border operations launched in 2019 to fight the PKK based in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq. The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has led an armed insurgency in southeastern Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which in the past was mainly centered in southeastern Turkey, where the PKK has sought to create a national homeland. Ankara has pressured Baghdad to root out PKK elements from the northern region. Iraq, in turn, said Turkey’s continued attacks violated its sovereignty.
