Iraqi Parliament holds session on Duhok attack

Iraqi Parliament holds session on Duhok attack
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A parliamentary committee to investigate the artillery attack that killed nine civilians in Duhok has been formed, to work in coordination with the Turkish Embassy

The Iraqi Parliament held a session on Saturday to discuss the situation regarding the artillery attack that killed nine civilians in Duhok province, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), on 20 July.

The session, headed by Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi, was attended by Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, Defense Minister Jumaa Inad and Army Chief of Staff Abdul Amir Yarallah alongside 242 MPs.

The MPs decided to form a joint committee to launch an investigation into the artillery attack, which according to Iraqi government officials was carried out by Turkish forces.

A member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Mahdi Amerli, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the investigation is to be conducted in coordination with the Turkish embassy in Baghdad.

"The Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs, the Chief of Staff of the army and the Commander of Joint Operations confirmed two steps to be taken, the first towards legal procedures by submitting international complaints, and the other for ending the presence of Turkish forces in Iraq," Amerli stated.

"A committee of parliamentary security, defense and foreign relations has been formed with the participation of the chief of staff of the army, the ministry of defense and joint operations to investigate the facts on the ground at the site of the incident and find out the source of the bombardment, in cooperation with the Turkish embassy."

Iraqi FM calls for UN Security Council emergency session

In another statement, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Iraqi chargé d’affaires in Ankara had been recalled to Baghdad.

Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Sahaf also said that "the ministry sent a letter of complaint to the United Nations Security Council and requested that an emergency session is held to discuss the Turkish aggression."