Drone strike damages home in Erbil, no casualties reported

ERBIL — A drone strike hit a residential house on Friday in the Karezan neighborhood of Erbil, causing heavy damage but no injuries, according to local sources.

Footage obtained by 964media shows the house severely damaged, with parts of its structure collapsed, the roof punctured and windows shattered. Nearby houses also sustained damage from the blast.

Residents said the house was home to an elderly couple suffering from illness. “The drone nearly took their lives,” one account said, noting that both residents were already in poor health.

Tariq Ziyad, the son of the homeowners, told 964media that his parents are elderly and ill. He said his father has been bedridden for four years after suffering a stroke.

“Thank God they made it out safely,” he said.

Ziyad described Karezan as a low-income, civilian neighborhood that has been repeatedly targeted. “This is the fifth time since Ramadan that the neighborhood has been targeted by drones,” he said. “Honestly, the neighborhood is no longer livable.”

Residents said the house belongs to a woman over the age of 60 who lives there, and she was not at home at the time of the strike.

“The sound of the explosion was very strong,” residents said, adding that people in surrounding neighborhoods, including Karezan, Farmanbaran, Badawa and Sharawani, heard it clearly and woke up.

The attack comes as drone and missile strikes by Iran-linked armed groups continue to target the Kurdistan Region, particularly Erbil. Civilian areas, residential neighborhoods and commercial sites have been repeatedly affected.

According to Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan, at least 474 attacks were recorded across the Kurdistan Region between Feb. 28 and March 27. The report states that “civilian residential areas and civilian and official institutions of the Kurdistan Regional Government have also been targeted, despite having no connection to the war of the United States and Israel against Iran.”

The group documented 107 total casualties, including 14 killed and 93 injured, with 19 civilians among the injured. It also reported damage to at least 46 civilian homes and 32 civilian vehicles.

Most attacks were concentrated in Erbil governorate, which accounted for more than three-quarters of recorded incidents, according to the report.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s strike, and authorities have not issued an official statement.