Search intensifies for two children missing in Diyala River

DIYALA — Diyala provincial council head Omar al-Karawi on Saturday directed an increase in river search teams looking for the bodies of two children who drowned in the Diyala River within the boundaries of Marjana village in Saadiya district, east of the governorate.

Al-Karawi told journalists during a field visit to the site that 13 divers would take part in the search operations starting Saturday afternoon, adding that a joint operations room had been formed with the Diyala police commander. He called on the interior minister to increase river units assigned to Hamrin Lake and the Diyala River.

Ahmed al-Jubouri, a resident of the village, described the incident to 964media, saying, “The two children were riding bicycles near their mother, and after half an hour their traces disappeared. Search operations began by asking neighbors before the bicycles were found on the banks of the Diyala River.” He added that “the search operations also indicated the presence of the children’s footwear near the river, which is preliminary evidence of their drowning,” noting that “all the villagers and the mukhtar participated in the search operations using available boats or by swimming in the river before the river police divers arrived.”

Al-Jubouri said, “The turbidity of the water made it difficult to search for the two bodies because visibility inside the river is almost nonexistent, so we are demanding divers who have sonar devices to be able to recover the bodies.”

Residents of Saadiya began searching on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, for two children aged 5 and 6 after they went missing near the Diyala River. Their bicycles were found on the riverbank and their footwear floating on the water. Residents and fishermen took part in the search using their boats, amid strong currents and difficult access conditions.