35 wounded in a tourist bus crash in Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A bus carrying Iraqi tourists crashed into a roadside shop in the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil province on Friday afternoon, injuring at least 35 travelers, according to a local official.

No death has been reported, Ahmed Qadir, the mayor of Rawandiz, announced on Friday. Some of the passengers were wounded “seriously”, he said.

The traffic incident took place at Bekhal resort in the north of the province, which attracts flocks of local and Iraqi tourists throughout the year due to its renowned waterfall and mountainous nature.

The visitors were mainly from the central and southern Iraqi provinces, according to the official.

In late July, artillery bombardments killed at least nine Iraqi tourists in Zakho. The Iraqi government blamed Turkey for the attacks.

Nearly two million tourists have visited the capital Erbil this year, according to the head of the tourism directorate.

Most tourists who visit the Kurdistan Region come from the central and southern provinces of Iraq, while others travel from Iran and other countries.

The Kurdistan Region has multiple rich historical sites and plenty of tourist destinations. Additionally, its geography and sparsely populated expanses ensure that it stands out starkly from the rest of the Middle East.

In the past few years, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has launched various efforts to boost the tourism and agriculture sectors to diversify the region's sources of revenue.