DOHUK, Iraq -- Turkish artillery strikes killed at least eight tourists, among them a small child, in northern Iraq and wounded over 20, officials from the Iraqi Kurdish government, a hospital and the army said Wednesday.
At least four artillery shells struck the resort area of Barakh in the Zakho district in the semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region, District Mayor Mushir Mohammed told The Associated Press. All the casualties were Iraqi citizens.
Iraq's military said eight were killed in the attack. Health workers at the Bidar Hospital in Dohuk province, which received patients, said nine were killed. The incident will test Iraq-Turkey relations. The two countries share deep economic ties but don't see eye-to-eye on security issues related to Kurdish insurgents operating in Iraq, oil trading with the Kurdish region and water-sharing.
Dozens of wounded people sat outside the hospital. Critically injured patients, including young children with stunned faces, were transferred in gurneys. Inside, a toddler was pronounced dead along with her mother.
The Iraqi Kurdish region's Health Ministry said all the dead were “young people and children,” including a 1-year old. The ministry said 26 people had been taken to the hospital with moderate to severe injuries.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry released a statement expressing condolences to the Iraqi people and government over the deaths and a speedy recovery to those injured.
The statement said Turkey carries out its operations by showing “utmost sensitivity to the protection of civilians, infrastructure, historical and cultural assets and the environment.”
“Turkey is ready to take every step to reveal the truth,” the ministry said.
Among the wounded was Yousef, a tourist from Baghdad. He said many tour groups were vacationing in the area at the time of the attack.
Iraq's government condemned the attack, calling it a “flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty,” according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
“This attack led to the deaths and injuries of civilians, most of whom are women and children,” Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in a statement.
“This brutal attack underscores the fact that Turkey ignored Iraq's continuous demands to refrain from military violations against Iraqi territory and the lives of its people,” he said.
Al-Kadhimi convened an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security. The council directed the Foreign Affairs Ministry to prepare a report on Turkey’s repeated attacks on Iraqi soil and submit an official complaint to the U.N. Security Council, while also summoning Turkey’s ambassador to Baghdad.
It also ordered a pause in dispatching a new Iraqi ambassador to Ankara.
The U.N. mission in Iraq called in a statement for a thorough investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the attack.