At least 13 killed in Fallujah-Baghdad road traffic incident

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least 13 people were killed and five others injured on Wednesday in a traffic accident on the Fallujah-Baghdad road, Anbar’s health directorate announced.

“As a result of the incident, 13 people lost their lives, and five others were injured,” Mohammed Adel al-Qaisi, director of Anbar Health media, told Rudaw. He said the crash involved several vehicles.

Video footage circulating on social media shows fire spreading across multiple vehicles, with several cars completely burned, contributing to the high death toll.

Iraq’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that eight soldiers were among those killed.

Car accidents remain a leading cause of death in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, where years of war, neglect, and corruption have damaged infrastructure.

Roads are often riddled with potholes and lack proper illumination, making nighttime driving particularly dangerous.

In October, 13 people were killed in a traffic accident on the Baghdad-Diyala road.

According to the defense ministry, traffic accidents in 2025 have decreased by 10 to 15 percent compared to 2024, while deaths fell by 12 percent and injuries by 9 percent. In 2024, Iraq recorded its highest number of traffic accidents in the past 15 years, with more than 11,700 incidents resulting in over 2,700 deaths and more than 11,900 injuries.

Updated at 2:23 pm.

Nahro Mohammed contributed to this report from Erbil.