Nine people were killed and at least 23 injured when the Turkish state bombed a picnic site in the village of Perex in the southern Kurdish district of Zakho on 20 July. The victims include one-year-old Zahra and twelve-year-old Sara. Seven of them had come to Zakho from Baghdad for holidays, two men came from Karbala.

The Parliament of Iraq has convened for a special session today to discuss the deadly attack with the participation of the Chief of Staff, Minister of Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Joint Operations Deputy Commander Abdulemir Shemeri.

Speaking at the session, the Chief of Staff Abdulemir Yarela stated that the Turkish state has four thousand soldiers deployed in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to Yarela, the Turkish state operates 5 military and main air force bases, as well as over a hundred military bases in the region, including those in Zilkan and Mosul.

The session decided to form a joint commission to conduct an on-site examination. The commission will be made up of experts from the fields of security, defence, foreign relations and military. Following an examination at the scene of the massacre, the commission will announce a final decision.