Deadly week as storms puncture spring heat
Lightning strikes claim more lives in Iraq
ERBIL – A series of fatal lightning strikes has occurred in Erbil and Kirkuk, killing a Peshmerga fighter and a child in separate incidents today, family members confirmed to 964media.
In Altun Kupri, a Peshmerga fighter named Derbaz Yusuf was fatally struck by lightning this evening, according to his uncle, Bayar Ibrahim. “My nephew lost his life due to the lightning this evening,” Ibrahim said. Yusuf leaves behind a pregnant wife and two children. His body has been transported to the forensic medicine department in Erbil for further examination.
In another incident in the New Qalati district, a 13-year-old boy named Heriyad Hendreen died following a lightning strike while playing football with his brother and other children. The strike also injured his brother and slightly wounded another child, a family member told 964media.
These incidents follow the deaths of two workers in Qushaghlu village, Qushtapa sub-district, who were killed by lightning while working in the fields around 10 a.m. yesterday. Additionally, a man in the Taza sub-district south of Kirkuk was also fatally struck while herding sheep.
Recent lightning strikes in Iraq have had severe impact on. In April, a member of the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces died after being struck by lightning in Makhmur’s Dibaga sub-district. The same month, another lightning strike injured two Peshmerga on Kukhe Mountain in the Amedi district. The storms also led to the deaths of livestock, including two camels in Daquq, 360 chickens in Dohuk, and 25 sheep in Ozmana village.
Infrastructure damage from lightning is also significant. Power disruptions occurred in Mergasor district, affecting approximately 7,000 residents, and internet services were briefly interrupted in Erbil after a strike on an internet tower. Further damage includes the destruction of power pylons in Mazni district and disrupted electricity in the village of Jelani Khwaru in Akre.