Suspected Iranian drone crashes near Mount Qarachogh

MAKHMUR — A suspected Iranian drone crashed and exploded Saturday on the slopes of Mount Qarachogh in Nineveh’s Makhmur district, near the border with Erbil, without causing casualties or material damage, according to local authorities.

Ghazi Faisal, a Peshmerga commander in the area, told 964media, “Before noon today, the drone crashed and exploded on the mountain slope. Based on the writing found on the drone, it appears to be Iranian.”

He said Peshmerga forces reached the scene and notified the Iraqi Army, which later collected the debris. “This is the first drone crash recorded in the Qarachogh area,” Faisal added.

Photos of the wreckage showed an inscription in Persian script reading “Martyr Ayin”, a phrase commonly used by Iranian forces to commemorate fallen personnel, lending weight to speculation that the drone was of Iranian origin.

Later the same day, residents of Sheikh Mansour village in Sulaymaniyah’s Dukan district reported that another unidentified object — described locally as either a drone or missile — fell nearby. Authorities have not yet confirmed its nature or origin.

These incidents are the latest in a growing series of drone-related events in Iraq amid intensifying regional tensions. On June 19, a drone crashed near Gomezal village in Dukan’s Bingird subdistrict. No injuries were reported, and the source of that drone remains unclear.

A separate wave of drone activity was recorded in Erbil governorate earlier this week. An explosive-laden drone was intercepted near Sherawa village on June 18. On June 17, two drones were brought down in Shamamak subdistrict, while another suspected drone fell near the new U.S. consulate complex in Erbil on June 16.

The string of incidents comes amid the second week of open hostilities between Israel and Iran. Military operations, including missile and drone deployments, have been reported across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Iraqi airspace has remained closed to civilian flights since the outbreak of the conflict, with limited exceptions for repatriation.