Following a deadly attack on a tourist resort in northern Iraq, which killed two children, the parliament of Iraq is reviewing a draft law which would declare Turkish military presence in Iraq unlawful and subject to expulsion.

“The Iraqi parliament is determined to end the illegal presence of Turkish army forces in the areas of northern Iraq, which is a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” an Iraqi member of parliament stated.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) condemned the 20 July attack in northern Iraqi province of Dohuk, which resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, including two children.

Iraqi authorities claimed that Turkish forces were behind the attack, but Ankara deflected the blame onto the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The UN condemned the attack after the Iraqi government said they had evidence that the artillery fire originated from Turkish military outposts, and requested an emergency session of the council.

Public outrage at Turkey has been widely expressed with protests held outside the Turkish embassy in Baghdad in the wake of the tragic assault.

Iraqi resistance factions have also stood against Turkish aggression by demanding the withdrawal of Ankara’s forces from Iraq. They have threatened to launch attacks on Turkey until their demands are met.

Since the Dohuk attack, the military outposts of the Turkish armed forces in Iraq have come under attack from various armed militant groups.

Two suicide drones were launched at a Turkish military base in Bamarni, Amadiyah district, north of Dohuk on 22 July.

According to local sources, Turkish air defenses downed one of the drones while the other hit the base. No casualties were reported.

Then, on 24 July, the Turkish Zelikan military base in Bashiqa town came under attack by several rockets.

Two missiles targeted the vicinity of the Turkish consulate in the Iraqi city of Mosul in the early hours of 27 July, according to local sources.

In 2020, following the assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Qassem Soleimani and Popular Mobilization Units deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Baghdad voted to expel foreign occupation forces.

The eventual failure to expel US forces led to an increase in attacks against US military installations in Iraq by local armed resistance groups.

Iraqi resistance groups have pledged to lay down their weapons only after the full withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.