ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and five others seriously injured late Friday in a traffic accident on the Baghdad-Kirkuk highway near the Hamrin mountain range, local authorities said.
The accident occurred opposite Maftoul village, south of Kirkuk province, according to a statement from Kirkuk Governor Mohammed Samaan Agha's office.
The statement said the deceased were members of the Iraqi Army’s Eighth Division and Second Special Forces Division. Five other soldiers were also injured in the accident and are receiving medical treatment.
"We extend our deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the Iraqi Army, and Kirkuk Operations Command on the martyrdom and injury of a group of heroes in a tragic traffic accident," statement cited Samaan Agha as saying.
Traffic accidents remain a persistent challenge on Iraq’s highways, with officials frequently pointing to speeding, poor road conditions, and vehicle safety issues as contributing factors.
According to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, 11,763 traffic accidents were recorded across the country in 2024, resulting in 2,719 deaths and nearly 11,900 injuries, while authorities in the Kurdistan Region reported 779 accidents that claimed 98 lives and injured more than 1,400 people during the same year.
In a similar incident in late April, six people were killed and 12 others injured in Kirkuk when a cement truck collided with several vehicles at the entrance to the city on the main road linking it to Sulaimani.
However, officials in the Kurdistan Region say targeted safety measures have led to a significant decline in traffic-related deaths and injuries in recent years.
In January, Hemin Mirany, chief of staff to the ministry, told Rudaw "Over the past five years, traffic accidents have decreased, and we have been able to reduce the rate of death and injury by 60 percent," attributing the sharp decline to the implementation of new traffic technologies.
