Explosion of war-era shell kills two in Halabja

HALABJA, Iraq — A war-era artillery shell exploded in a cave near Kani Maran village in Halabja on Monday, killing two people and injuring others, local police said. Halabja Police Spokesperson Akam Qutbuddin said the blast occurred at around 12:15 p.m. when an old artillery shell detonated, collapsing the cave's ceiling. The two victims, identified as Serhenk Kebir, born in 1984, and Nuzad Ma'ruf, born in 1990, died at the scene, he said. Security forces were dispatched to the area and an investigation has been opened, according to the police spokesperson. The bodies were transferred to the forensic medical office. Ferhan Hamah Han, spokesperson for the Halabja Health Directorate, confirmed the death toll had risen to two, telling the agency that a precise figure for the number of wounded had not yet been determined. Unexploded ordnance, including mines, shells and other munitions left over from past conflicts, has remained buried for decades in the border and mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region, posing a persistent risk to villagers, farmers and herders.