ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An explosive drone crashed in Sulaimani province's Garmiyan administration Thursday afternoon without causing casualties, a spokesperson for security forces said.
Salam Abdulkhaliq, spokesperson for Sulaimani-based security forces (Asayish), said in a statement that "an explosive-laden drone crashed near Kokis subdistrict in Garmiyan at 1:20 pm [local time]," adding that "security teams immediately arrived at the scene of the incident and began their investigation. The drone crash caused no casualties."
Kokis is located in Kalar district.
A senior official told Rudaw on the condition of anonymity that the drone was "carrying two missiles that did not explode, so there was no damage."
According to the same official, who visited the incident site for investigation, the drone measures two and a half meters in length and two meters in width.
Regarding the cause of the drone crash, the official said: "Its fuel tank had no gasoline left in it, so it most likely crashed due to lack of fuel."
An eyewitness told Rudaw that he first found the drone but did not know it was drone. Another local thought it was a cardboard.
Several similar incidents have occurred in Sulaimani and Erbil provinces in recent weeks.
It is not clear where these drones originate from, but they are believed to be related to the latest deadly war between Iran and Israel.
The renewed drone activity follows the US-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on June 24, ending the 12-day war between Iran and Israel. During the conflict, numerous drones and rockets flew through the airspace of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, where several drones fell or were intercepted.
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