ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said Sunday that explosions heard across parts of Erbil were caused by “military exercises and security activities,” reassuring residents that the sounds “pose no danger.”
“We reassure everyone that the sounds of explosions heard today, Sunday, September 20, within Erbil province, were due to military exercises and security activities, and pose no danger,” the CTD said in a statement.
A loud explosion heard across parts of Erbil on Sunday evening was caused by a controlled detonation of expired munitions at a security camp near Erbil International Airport, a security source told Rudaw.
The source added that Coalition forces carried out the controlled disposal of expired ordnance at around 5 pm, local time, inside the Zeravani camp, south of Erbil International Airport.
The source said the operation was conducted in a controlled manner and resulted in no casualties or property damage. The blast was heard in several neighborhoods of the Kurdistan Region capital, while video clips showing smoke rising into the air circulated shortly afterward.
The incident comes amid heightened concern among residents of the Kurdistan Region, particularly in Erbil, following continuous drone and missile attacks on the Region since the outbreak of the US-Iran war in late February.
Last week, a one-way attack drone struck a base belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) in the mountainous Balisan area, south of Rawanduz in the Soran administration. A senior KDPI official told Rudaw that there were no casualties.
The strike came a day after three missiles hit a camp housing families of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group Komala in Zirgwez, Sulaimani province. The bombardment caused material damage but no casualties, according to Ali Ranjbari, head of Komala’s public relations.
Iran has repeatedly carried out missile and drone strikes against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region, accusing them of posing a security threat. Tehran has also pressed Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to disarm or expel the groups.
Iranian strikes have targeted Komala and KDPI positions near Soran on multiple occasions, including in mid-August and July. A July missile strike on Komala’s headquarters in Zirgwez killed nine members of the group.
Iranian strikes have also extended beyond the bases of Kurdish opposition groups. Rudaw has recorded nearly 1,000 drone and missile attacks on the Kurdistan Region since the US-Iran conflict began in late February, resulting in 32 deaths and 154 injuries as of early August.
The KRG has repeatedly maintained that the Region is not a party to the conflict and has called for an end to attacks on its territory.
