Landmine blast in Haji Omran area injures shepherd, marks ninth incident this year in Soran

SORAN — A shepherd lost his leg in a landmine explosion Monday in the mountainous area of Mergedrezhan, part of the Haji Omran subdistrict in the Soran administration, according to mine action officials.

Rabar Anwar, head of media at the Erbil Mine Action Agency, told 964media that the young man was tending his flock in the Choman district when the device detonated.

“He lost a leg completely due to the explosion,” Anwar said.

The injured man was first treated at Choman hospital before being transferred to a medical facility in Erbil due to the severity of his condition.

The incident is the ninth civilian landmine explosion reported in the Soran administration area in the first half of 2025. Four people have died as a result of those incidents.

Large areas of the Kurdistan Region remain contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance left over from past conflicts, including the Iran-Iraq War and military campaigns under the former Baathist regime. Rural communities in mountainous terrain are especially vulnerable.

In 2024, landmine-related explosions caused 11 casualties across the Kurdistan Region, including four fatalities and seven injuries or amputations. In 2023, 23 incidents were recorded, resulting in 10 deaths and 13 injuries.