Landmine injures civilian in Mergasor mountains

SORAN — A 50-year-old man was injured when a landmine exploded on Piran Mountain in Mergasor District, Erbil’s Soran Autonomous Administration, local health officials said.

The incident occurred Saturday evening as the man was collecting spring herbs on the mountain. He was taken to Mergasor Hospital, where Dr. Herme Naqshbandi said he was stable but would require surgery to remove shrapnel from his abdomen.

This is the second landmine explosion in the Soran administration in the past three days. In the first incident, a man over 50 was killed while gathering herbs in the mountains.

The Kurdistan Region remains heavily affected by landmine contamination—a lasting hazard from past conflicts including the Iran-Iraq War and clashes with the former Baathist regime. The threat continues to impact residents in remote, rural areas.

Jabbar Mustafa, director of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Mine Action Agency, previously told 964media that of the 776 square kilometers originally classified as mine-contaminated, 576 square kilometers have been cleared, leaving 200 square kilometers still hazardous. Mustafa said landmines have affected 13,580 individuals, with about 5,000 fatalities.

In 2024, 11 casualties were reported from landmines and explosive remnants across the Kurdistan Region, including four fatalities and seven injuries or amputations. In 2023, 23 landmine-related incidents resulted in 10 deaths and 13 injuries.