Memorial Unveiled in Erbil for Victims of 2024 Iranian Missile Attack
A memorial unveiled in Erbil honors civilians killed in the January 2024 Iranian missile attack, including businessman Peshraw Dizayee and his infant daughter.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A memorial honoring civilians killed in the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Erbil in January 2024 was unveiled on Thursday evening, Oct. 29, 2026, at the Empire compound, bringing government representatives, public figures and residents together to commemorate the victims.
The memorial was established to preserve the memory of those killed when missiles struck civilian areas of Erbil on the night of Jan. 15–16, 2024. Among them were businessman Peshraw Dizayee, the owner of the Empire project, his 11-month-old daughter, Zhina Dizayee, and several of his friends and employees working at his home.
The Kurdistan Center for Arts and Culture (KCAC) organized the unveiling in cooperation with, and under the supervision of, Dizayee's family. The memorial was conceived as an artistic and cultural work intended to document the attack and preserve the memory of the people who lost their lives.
Sidad Barzani attended the ceremony on behalf of President Masoud Barzani. Representatives of the Kurdistan Region's President and Prime Minister also participated, alongside Iraq's Minister of Construction and Housing, the Chairman of the Kurdistan Region Board of Investment and the Governor of Erbil.
The gathering also included political party and government officials, religious figures, representatives of political forces, cultural and social personalities and members of the public.
Their attendance brought together representatives of different institutions and sections of society for an occasion dedicated to remembering civilians whose lives were lost in the missile strike.
The unveiling took place more than two years after the attack, which targeted civilian areas of Erbil during the night between January 15 and 16. The ceremony provided an occasion to commemorate the victims through a permanent public memorial rather than solely through anniversary observances.
Dizayee's death and that of his infant daughter are among the individual losses the memorial commemorates. The inclusion of his friends and employees in the account of those killed also draws attention to the wider group of civilians affected by the strike, rather than solely to the businessman whose family helped oversee the project.
The artistic and cultural character of the memorial is central to its purpose. Beyond marking the date of the attack, the work is intended to provide a lasting reminder of the victims and document an incident that claimed civilian lives in Erbil.
The family's participation in organizing and supervising the initiative was also an important element of the ceremony. Working with the Kurdistan Center for Arts and Culture, the family helped bring the commemorative project to its unveiling at the Empire compound.
The memorial stands as a tribute to those killed in the January 2024 Iranian missile attack, preserving their memory through a cultural work dedicated to the civilians whose lives were lost, including Peshraw Dizayee, his daughter Zhina and the others who died in the same incident.
