Two drones hit Erbil province; no casualties reported: sources

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two drones struck separate locations in Erbil province, in the sub-districts of Basirma and Rizgari on Thursday evening, causing material damage but no casualties, sources confirmed to Rudaw.

A local official in Basirma told Rudaw that a drone fell at around 7:20 p.m. near the village of Baba Jisk, resulting in no injuries.

Meanwhile, another local source said a drone landed near the sub-district of Rizgari, also causing no casualties.

Separately, Iran’s Fars News Agency, citing local reports, said a drone targeted a base belonging to an Iranian opposition group in Erbil province.

Fresh drone attacks on Thursday comes a day after the US-led coalition shot down another drone over the Soran administration in northeastern Erbil.

The US and Israel launched a preemptive air campaign against Iran on February 28, targeting more than 17,000 sites across the country over six weeks of hostilities before the warring sides agreed to a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire on April 8. The truce halted fighting for two weeks and paved the way for talks.

Despite the extension of the ceasefire on Tuesday, the Kurdistan Region has continued to face drone and missile threats. Since the onset of the war in late February, the Region has been targeted by 732 such attacks, resulting in 21 deaths and 99 injuries.

The attacks on the Kurdistan Region have been claimed by the Iranian military, namely the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Iraqi armed groups aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance,’ which say they are targeting US interests and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Region.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Saturday that attacks by Iran and its allied Iraqi armed groups on the Region, even during the truce, have killed at least five people and injured others.

US President Trump on Tuesday announced an extension of the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request, to allow Iranian “leaders and representatives [to] come up with a unified proposal” for an agreement, while directing US forces to remain “ready and able.”

However, diplomatic efforts have stalled, as second-round talks in Islamabad on Wednesday failed to materialize after Iranian officials signaled a no-show. Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, cited a source on Tuesday as saying that “continued hostile US actions,” make further negotiations “a waste of time.”

Updated at 10:46 pm