ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two explosive-laden drones were downed near a village northwest of Erbil, Kurdish counterterrorism forces said on Sunday, as regional tensions soar following US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.
“Two explosive-laden drones were destroyed and downed. Fortunately, no material or human casualties resulted from them,” the Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said on Facebook.
The drones reportedly fell on an agricultural land near Qalachoghan village in Erbil’s Baharka subdistrict, a few kilometers from the city’s international airport. Rudaw’s Ranja Jamal, reporting from the scene, said security forces had arrived to investigate.
The origin of the drone and who downed it remains unclear.
The incident comes amid escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. On Sunday, the United States struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites - Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
The airstrikes followed a deadly Israeli assault on June 13 that killed several senior Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists. In retaliation, Iran has launched multiple waves of missiles and drones targeting Israeli sites.
The Kurdistan Region and Iraq lie beneath the flight paths of many of these projectiles. In recent days, there have been several reports of drones and debris falling from the sky, occasionally sparking fires.
On Saturday, a suspected Iranian drone crashed in the Makhmour district of Nineveh province. Separately, a fire broke out in Sulaimani province, with local officials suspecting it was caused by falling drone or missile fragments.
Updated at 8:36 pm.
