ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi Olympic team announced on Sunday that it will be withdrawing from a sports event set to take place in Turkey in August, in protest of the recent bloody bombardment of Duhok province which has been attributed to Ankara, according to a statement from the Olympic committee.

“In protest of the innocent Iraqi blood that was shed in the city of Zakho… The Executive Office of the Iraqi National Olympic Committee decided, in its emergency meeting this morning, to withdraw from the fifth Islamic Solidarity Games,” read the statement from the committee.

A tourist resort in Duhok’s Zakho was the subject of artillery shelling on Wednesday, claiming the lives of nine Iraqi civilians and injuring 23 others. Erbil and Iraq have accused Turkey of being behind the attack, but Ankara has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The decision comes in line with the position of the Iraqi people and the recommendations from the Iraqi parliament’s meeting on Saturday, the statement added.

Protests were held in some Iraqi provinces the day following the attack, with demonstrators calling for the expulsion of the Turkish ambassador to Iraq and the reduction of diplomatic ties with Ankara.

The incident was also widely condemned by the international community, including the United Nations, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The Islamic Solidarity Games is a multi-sport event held every four years between countries that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The first edition of the competition was held in Saudi Arabia in 2005.

Turkey is set to host the fifth Islamic Solidarity Games from August 9 to August 18.[1]