ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – At least 3,000 dunams of land has been burnt as a result of a wildfire that has been raging for the past two days in Penjwen, an official told The New Region.

The fire was initially brought under control after several hours on Thursday. It reemerged, however, on Friday morning at the same site.

“The fires have been ongoing for two days in the Penjwen District and have covered swathes of dry grassland and forests,” Mayor of Penjwen District Hemin Ibrahim told The New Region on Saturday, adding that “around three to four thousand dunams or more have burned.”

Controlling the fire has become a more challenging task due to planted landmines and explosives from the eight year long Iran-Iraq war over three decades ago.

Several landmines have exploded since Thursday, each explosion adding to the intensity of the flame.

Penjwen’s Halalawa fire is the latest in a series of fires that the Kurdistan Region has seen over the past month.

The Region has witnessed several fires in August only, including the Halabja mountain range fires that killed two, as well as multiple fires in the Soran Independent Administration’s Sidakan, Balakian and Bradost mountains.

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

Reporting by Hevi Karam