Traffic police officer killed, five hurt in highway crash north of Baghdad

BAGHDAD — A traffic police officer was killed and five others were injured Tuesday after a vehicle lost control and crashed into a traffic police unit on the Kirkuk-Baghdad highway in the Khalis district, authorities said.

Mohammed Abdullah, spokesperson for Diyala’s General Traffic Directorate, told 964media that a vehicle was traveling at high speed when it reached the district boundary and “lost control and crashed into a temporary traffic police unit stationed on the road.”

“The severity of the crash caused the vehicle to catch fire,” Abdullah said, adding that “a traffic police officer, who had recently been appointed on a contract basis, died immediately due to burns.”

He said two other traffic police officers were injured in the incident, along with the driver and two passengers in the vehicle. All the injured were taken to hospital for treatment.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the crash, Abdullah said.

Traffic accidents remain a major public safety concern across Iraq.

Nationwide figures from Iraq’s Ministry of Planning show a 10% decline in traffic deaths in 2024 compared with the previous year. The annual report listed 11,763 incidents across governorates outside the Kurdistan Region, including 2,103 fatal crashes that killed 2,719 people, down from 3,019 in 2023. Men accounted for 82% of those fatalities.

Although overall numbers fell, authorities say speeding, poor infrastructure, distracted driving and weak enforcement remain key causes of deadly accidents.