Iraqi PM slams Turkey after tourist resort in Kurdistan strike kills 9 civilians, 2 children

Nine civilians, including at least two children, were killed in a park in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region Wednesday by artillery fire Baghdad blamed on neighbouring Turkey, a country engaged in a cross-border offensive.

In an unusually strong rebuke, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi warned Turkey that Iraq reserves the "right to retaliate", calling the artillery fire a "flagrant violation" of sovereignty.

Turkey launched an offensive in northern Iraq in April dubbed "Operation Claw-Lock", which it said targets fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The victims included Iraqi tourists who had come to the hill village of Parakh in Zakho district to escape sweltering temperatures further south in the country, according to Mushir Bashir, the head of Zakho region.

"Turkey hit the village twice today," Bashir told AFP.
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Videos from the scene of the attack shows a summer idyll destroyed. Shortly before the strike, families gathered near a pond, took a dip or rested in the shade.

When the shots start, screams fill the air under the grape canopy. Parents grabbed their children and ran.