Iraqi political and military moves in response to Turkish attack on holiday resort in northern Iraq

NOHADRA, Iraq — On Saturday, the Iraqi Parliament held an emergency session to discuss the Turkish attacks on Iraq’s sovereignty, including the recent attack on a holiday resort in Nohadra (Dohuk), Kurdistan Region Iraq (KRI) that killed nine and wounded dozens of other holidaymakers.

The MPs agreed on the importance of confronting the Turkish violations and illegal military presence inside Iraq and called on the government to take the necessary measures to stop the Turkish intervention.

They insisted on the withdrawal of Turkish forces, redeployment of federal forces along the Turkish border, cancellation of security agreements with Turkey, and reviewing the budget of the Ministry of Defense to enhance its military capabilities.

The U.N. Security Council has set Tuesday as a date for holding an emergency session on the issue at the request of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had directed the preparation of a comprehensive dossier of Turkish violations to be submitted to the Council.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres called for an urgent investigation of the recent attack.

Meanwhile, al-Kadhimi received the Prime Minister of the KRI Masrour Barzani. They strongly condemned the Turkish attacks and stressed the importance of agreeing on a unified mechanism for dealing with them.

Commander of ground forces in Iraq Lieutenant-General Qassem al-Mohammadi confirmed the increased ability of the Iraqi forces to secure the borders, stressing the work of the KRI military units to strengthen its defenses.