Drone crashes near Dukan as fifth incident reported in Kurdistan Region

DUKAN — A drone crashed Thursday in an uninhabited area near the village of Gomezał in the Bingird subdistrict of Dukan district, Sulaymaniyah governorate. No injuries or property damage were reported, and the drone’s origin remains unknown.

“After we were notified, security forces arrived at the scene,” the Dukan District Administration said in a statement. The drone fell in a remote area with no nearby homes or infrastructure, and officials have yet to identify its type or source.

This is the fifth drone incident in the Kurdistan Region in under a week, following four earlier cases centered in Erbil governorate.

The surge in drone activity coincides with the seventh day of open hostilities between Israel and Iran, with missile and drone operations reported across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Iraq has kept its airspace closed to civilian traffic since the start of the conflict, citing ongoing threats and regional security concerns.

On Wednesday, an explosive-laden drone was shot down near Sherawa village in Erbil, according to the Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism. It crashed in an agricultural zone without causing damage or casualties.

Two more drones were intercepted Tuesday in Shamamak subdistrict, with one exploding on impact. A day earlier, a suspected drone fell on an unfinished construction site near the new U.S. consulate in Erbil.