Iraq accuses Turkey of attack that killed nine in Kurdistan

iraq

A diplomatic row has erupted between Iraq and Turkey after nine civilians were killed when artillery shells hit a park in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Most of the victims were Iraqi tourists and children were among the dead. At least 23 people were wounded. Local officials blamed Turkish forces and Iraq is recalling its charge d’affaires from Ankara. Turkey is suggesting that forces belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) carried out the strike. The “fierce artillery bombing” hit a park in Zakho, a city on the border between Iraq’s Kurdistan region and Turkey, Iraq state TV said. Children, including a one-year-old baby, were among the victims, the Kurdish health minister said. Hassan Tahsin Ali, a man injured in the attack, called the attacks “indiscriminate”. “Our young people are dead, our children are dead, who should we turn to? We have only God,” he told the AFP news agency from in front of a hospital.(BBC)…[+]