ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A suspected guided missile struck a hillside near a village in the Soran Administration late Wednesday, triggering a fire that was contained without casualties, the local civil defense directorate told Rudaw.
Rawand Maghdid, spokesperson for the Soran Civil Defense Directorate, told Rudaw's Andam Jabar the explosion was heard at around 11:30 pm 400 meters behind Badlian village, five kilometers north of Soran, and that 14 firefighting units were deployed to the scene.
“It turned out to be an attack; initially, it wasn't clear if it was [from] a drone or a missile, but after containing [the fire], it appears most likely to have been a guided missile attack… based on information I received from the teams on the ground,” Maghdid said, pending investigation, adding that “Fortunately, there were no casualties of any kind.”
The attack comes amid ongoing security concerns in the Kurdistan Region following repeated attacks attributed to Iran and its backed militia groups in Iraq, despite Kurdistan Region leaders affirming it is not a party to the conflict.
On August 12, four drones struck locations across Soran, Khalifan, and Harir districts around 6:00 am local time. Two drones crashed in Khalifan, while another struck a civilian home in Soran and one crashed in Harir, where it caused a fire in the brushwood and grasslands of the Bani Harir mountains.
On August 17, two explosive drones launched from Iran targeted the private office of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the residence of the director of the Kurdistan Region Security Council in Erbil’s Pirmam district, according to the Region’s counterterrorism authorities. No casualties were reported.
The Directorate General of Counter Terrorism said at the time the drones were Hadid-110 type and condemned the attacks as “completely unacceptable.”
Prime Minister Barzani described the strikes as “a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region.”
While the security committee is expected to announce its findings after completing its investigation regarding the Wednesday attack,Rudaw’s reporter also said residents reported hearing two other explosions in the Choman and Bradost areas, including near the Barbzin and Boli heights above Sidakan district along the border with Iran. No fires were reported from those locations.
Kurdistan Region officials have repeatedly said the Region is not a party to the ongoing US-Iran conflict and have called for an end to attacks on its territory.
The latest incident also comes as the wider conflict between the United States and Iran remains unresolved, with Tehran and Washington locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz and facing growing economic and military pressure.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that Washington would not achieve its objectives through its latest sanctions campaign.
“America will not achieve anything with economic pressure at this stage, just as it was unable to achieve anything in the war,” Pezeshkian said, according to the state-run Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).
“We will stand firm against economic pressures, as we have done so far and will continue to do,” he added.
