Kurdistan Region's deputy police chief killed in car accident

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior Kurdistan Region police officer was killed in a fatal traffic accident in Erbil province on Friday, a local medical official told Rudaw. 

“This afternoon Brigadier General Farhad Mohammed, the deputy director general of the Kurdistan Regional Police, lost his life on the Koya-Erbil road as a result of his car overturning,” Kamaran Shekhani, director of health in Koya, told Rudaw. 

Koya is a mountainous area, where some roads are narrow and steep.

The accident took place around 4:00 pm on Friday.

“He was alone in the car with no other passengers,” Shekhani added.

Car accidents are a common occurrence in the Kurdistan Region, exacerbated by poor quality roads and lax enforcement of safety measures. 

Over 3,700 traffic accidents occurred across the Kurdistan Region in 2022, killing at least 445 people and injuring 7,250 others, according to the most recent data from the general traffic police directorate.