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on Wednesday refuted claims by state media that it had carried out a strike on a mountain resort in Iraq's northern Dohuk province that killed eight tourists and wounded another 23 people, saying the attack was a terror act.

The "fierce artillery bombing" hit a resort in Zakho, a city on the border between Iraq's region and Turkey, Iraq state TV said.

Statement by Iraqi PM explicitly blaming Turkey for today’s artillery strike which killed at least nine civilians in Zakho Iraqi Kurdistan. One of the toughest statements from Iraq on the rising civilian toll in Turkey’s cross border war against the PKK

— Amberin Zaman (@amberinzaman)

Children were amongst the victims, including a 1-year-old, the Kurdish health minister said in a statement, adding that all the victims died before reaching a hospital.

"We go towards the mountainside, there are strikes. We go towards the waterfall, there are strikes. We go towards this side, there are strikes," said Mustafa Aala, 24, who was at the resort with a friend when the attack occurred.

"We pulled up the fence that was around the waterfall. We looked from inside, I saw children lying on the ground....It's a scene that I've never seen in my life," Aala added.

Turkey's foreign ministry said Ankara was saddened to hear of the casualties in the attack, and added that Turkey took maximum care to avoid civilian casualties or damaging historic, cultural sites in its counter-terrorism operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia and others.

"Turkey is ready to take every step for the truth to come out," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Turkish military operations were in line with international laws.

"We call on the Iraqi government to not make remarks influenced by the heinous terrorist organisation's rhetoric and propaganda, and to engage in cooperation to uncover the perpetrators of this cruel act," it said, referring to the PKK.

UNAMI condemns attack in Duhok causing civilian casualties

— UNAMI (@UNIraq)

Turkey regularly carries out air strikes in northern Iraq and has sent commandos to support its offensives as part of a long-running campaign in Iraq and Syria against militants of the Kurdish PKK and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. Ankara regards both as terrorist groups.

The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which in the past was mainly focused in southeast Turkey where the PKK sought to create an ethnic homeland.

The top United Nations envoy to Iraq condemned Wednesday's attack in a statement published on Twitter and called for an investigation.Ìý