Shafaq News- Saladin

A pack of stray dogs attacked four sixth-grade students in Saladin, central Iraq, while they were returning home after completing their final exams, leaving them with varying injuries, a medical source in the province’s health directorate told Shafaq News.

Eyewitness Ahmad Omar told our agency that residents quickly intervened to rescue the children and drive the dogs away after they directly attacked the students. He noted that stray dogs have spread across the area in recent months, particularly near schools and vacant land, adding that residents have repeatedly filed complaints with local authorities over recurring incidents and fears for children’s safety.

Residents say stray dogs have become a daily threat, especially to school students during early morning hours and after classes.

Last month, a rabid dog attacked five people, including four children, in central Basra, southern Iraq.

Official estimates place Iraq’s stray dog population at more than one million, with authorities reporting frequent bite incidents across the country. Animal rights advocates, however, oppose policies permitting the killing of stray dogs, arguing that mass culling disrupts ecological balance and violates Kurdistan Region Law No. 14 of 2022, which bans the killing of stray animals and requires humane treatment.

Read more: Deadly dog attacks: Who protects Iraq’s neighborhoods?