ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A camp in Erbil province housing refugees from Kurdish areas of western Iran (Rojhelat) was targeted by a suicide drone but did not cause any material damage or casualties, said the Kurdistan Region’s counterterrorism directorate.
“According to Kurdistan's counter-terrorism information, this evening Thursday January 30, 2025, at 17:40, an explosive-laden drone was directed at the East Kurdistan refugee camp at the foot of Mount Korek on the border of Erbil province. The drone missed its target, crashed and fell down, with no casualties or material damage reported,” said the Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, Khidr Beg, a senior commander of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), told Rudaw that “about 5 to 6 kilometers from the East Kurdistan refugee camp, a strong explosion was heard, but we don't know yet if it was a drone or not."
He added that they “haven't clarified the incident and cannot accuse any country of carrying out the attack."
The camp is located near Khalidan subdistrict.
A security source from Khalifan told Rudaw on the condition of anonymity that “we haven't received any official information about it yet and have begun investigating the incident."
A security pact was signed between Iran and Iraq in March 2023 which saw Baghdad agree to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. Iran had threatened to use military action if Baghdad failed to fulfill the agreement. In September same year, Baghdad announced that it had disarmed the exiled Kurdish groups on the border and that offices previously used by the groups had been evacuated.
Updated at 8:54 pm
