ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A fire near Penjwen’s Halalawa village on Friday injured at least two people who were attempting to battle the blaze, amid efforts to bring the fire under control proving unsuccessful.

The fire was initially brought under control after several hours on Thursday. It reemerged however on Friday morning at the same cite, with efforts to extinguish it having borne no results as of the time of writing this article.

Efforts to extinguish the fire have been made more difficult by the presence of unexploded ordnance in the region, with witnesses telling The New Region’s that several loud booms have been heard since the fire started, that are suspected to be exploding landmines.

Two people were rushed to the hospital as a result of the fire. The New Region has learned that the pair were engaged in the struggles to bring the fire under control, before suffering burns and being transported to a hospital in Penjwen.

Penjwen’s Halalawa fire is the latest in a series of fires that the Kurdistan Region has seen in recent times. The Region has witnessed in August only, the Halabja mountain range fires that killed two, as well as multiple fires in the Soran Independent Administration’s Sidakan, and Balakian and Bradost mountains.

Forest fires have burned around 27,000 dunams of land in the first six months of 2025 only, according to Fuad Ahmed, head of the Kurdistan Region’s forest police’s media department.