ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After nearly six months of uncertainty, the family of a young man from northeastern Erbil has been informed that he had reportedly died while fighting with the Russian army in Ukraine, his relatives told Rudaw.
Twenty-two-year-old Matin Wahab, a resident of the Sidakan district within the Soran independent administration, had been missing since mid-August 2025. Halgurd Sheikh Najib, head of the Soran administration, said authorities are now taking steps “to bring his body back.”
Matin left his home on August 15 and later appeared in a video showing him armed on the front lines alongside Russian forces. His relatives told Rudaw on Thursday that he “had been deceived by a group that lured him to Russia under the pretext of work and then involved him in the Ukraine war.”
The family said they were officially notified of his death by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Soran administration on Thursday.
“We are waiting for our son’s body to be returned, and we will not hold a funeral service for him until his remains are brought back,” one of his family members told Rudaw.
The head of the Soran administration, Sheikh Najib, confirmed to Rudaw that the notification came through official channels, stating, “We received news of the young man’s death through the KRG Representation office in Russia and we are currently working with the relevant parties to return his body to the Kurdistan Region.”
The case is fueling concerns about youth from the Kurdistan Region traveling abroad in search of work and ending up on foreign battlefields.
Wahab had told his family in mid-July that he was going to Erbil to look for a job, before later calling from Prde sub-district (Altun Kupri) in northwestern Kirkuk province to say he had found “a great job.”
His father, Wahab Khidir, who spoke to Rudaw in November, said the offer promised a salary of $2,000 per month. “When they told him about $2,000, he immediately agreed.”
According to his family, Wahab later sent a video message saying he was in Russia undergoing military training and would soon be deployed to Ukraine, adding in another message that he would be stationed in Bakhmut, an eastern Ukraine city that witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting in 2023.
Similar cases have been reported in the Kurdistan Region, including that of Gailan Ali from the Kurdistan Region’s northern Duhok province, who went missing after joining the Russian army. Experts say several young Kurds and dozens of other Iraqis have joined the Russian or Ukrainian forces in recent years, often after being enticed by promises of high pay.
RELATED: Man from Duhok missing after joining Russian army
Twenty-two-year-old Matin Wahab, a resident of the Sidakan district within the Soran independent administration, had been missing since mid-August 2025. Halgurd Sheikh Najib, head of the Soran administration, said authorities are now taking steps “to bring his body back.”
Matin left his home on August 15 and later appeared in a video showing him armed on the front lines alongside Russian forces. His relatives told Rudaw on Thursday that he “had been deceived by a group that lured him to Russia under the pretext of work and then involved him in the Ukraine war.”
The family said they were officially notified of his death by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Soran administration on Thursday.
“We are waiting for our son’s body to be returned, and we will not hold a funeral service for him until his remains are brought back,” one of his family members told Rudaw.
The head of the Soran administration, Sheikh Najib, confirmed to Rudaw that the notification came through official channels, stating, “We received news of the young man’s death through the KRG Representation office in Russia and we are currently working with the relevant parties to return his body to the Kurdistan Region.”
The case is fueling concerns about youth from the Kurdistan Region traveling abroad in search of work and ending up on foreign battlefields.
Wahab had told his family in mid-July that he was going to Erbil to look for a job, before later calling from Prde sub-district (Altun Kupri) in northwestern Kirkuk province to say he had found “a great job.”
His father, Wahab Khidir, who spoke to Rudaw in November, said the offer promised a salary of $2,000 per month. “When they told him about $2,000, he immediately agreed.”
According to his family, Wahab later sent a video message saying he was in Russia undergoing military training and would soon be deployed to Ukraine, adding in another message that he would be stationed in Bakhmut, an eastern Ukraine city that witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting in 2023.
Similar cases have been reported in the Kurdistan Region, including that of Gailan Ali from the Kurdistan Region’s northern Duhok province, who went missing after joining the Russian army. Experts say several young Kurds and dozens of other Iraqis have joined the Russian or Ukrainian forces in recent years, often after being enticed by promises of high pay.
RELATED: Man from Duhok missing after joining Russian army
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