A drone lies intact in a dry field after crashing near the village of Duwgirdkan in Makhmour district, Erbil governorate, on July 30, 2025. Photo by: Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism.
Explosive-laden drone crashes in Makhmour, fails to detonate
ERBIL — An explosive-laden drone crashed Wednesday morning near the village of Duwgirdkan in Makhmour district without detonating, the Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism said.
In a statement issued shortly after the incident, the agency said, “According to our information, at 9:30 a.m. today, Wednesday, 30.7.2025, an explosive-laden drone crashed near the village of Duwgirdkan in Makhmour district, part of Erbil governorate, and did not explode.”
No casualties or property damage were reported. The drone’s origin and intended target remain unknown.
The incident follows a wave of drone activity across the Kurdistan Region in recent weeks. On July 28, three drones crashed in Erbil, Duhok, and Kirkuk governorates. One fell above a café in Khabat district, another in farmland near Kawrasor village in Bardarash, and a third in a field in Hiyawe village, Hawija district. None of the incidents caused injuries, and no group has claimed responsibility.
Earlier this month, a series of explosive drone attacks targeted oil fields in Sheikhan and Chamanke in Duhok governorate and Bahrka in Erbil, temporarily halting production at five fields and affecting more than 200,000 barrels per day, including output from facilities operated by U.S. companies.
Aziz Ahmed, deputy chief of staff to Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, said the drones in those attacks originated from Dibis district in Kirkuk governorate. “The suicide drones that targeted oil fields in the Kurdistan Region last week flew from Dibis, Kirkuk,” he wrote on X. “We know exactly who’s behind these attacks and where they’re coming from.”
In response to the escalation, Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji visited Erbil on July 28, accompanied by a delegation that included representatives from the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Iraqi Intelligence Service, the National Security Service, and counter-terrorism intelligence units.
At a joint press conference with Kurdistan Regional Government Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed, al-Araji said, “The strength of the region is the strength of Baghdad, and vice versa. Any targeting of economic interests in Iraq harms Iraq and all Iraqis.” He added that technical teams had begun investigations but said it was too early to assign blame.
Ahmed welcomed the Baghdad delegation and described al-Araji’s involvement as “reassuring.” He criticized the lack of accountability for earlier drone attacks, saying, “Several committees had investigated previous incidents and reached conclusions, but no action was taken against the groups responsible, and no boundaries were set for them.”