Two young men drown in Greater Zab River near Erbil

ERBIL, Iraq — Two young men drowned in the Greater Zab River in the Habat district of Erbil province on Wednesday when one attempted to rescue the other, according to witnesses. The youths were swimming when one got into distress and called for help; a second jumped into the water to assist him but also grew exhausted and was swept away by the current, witnesses said. The two bodies were recovered later in the day, local residents reported. Separately, a tourist from Baghdad drowned the same day in the Ava Shin stream in the Amadiya district of Duhok province. The incident followed a pattern of summer drownings reported across the Kurdistan Region as residents seek relief from high temperatures in rivers and streams. No further details on the victims' identities were immediately available.