Rabid dog attack kills child in Iraq’s Nineveh Province

Shafaq News– Nineveh

A 12-year-old girl died from a rabid dog bite in Nineveh Province, northern Iraq, a medical source told Shafaq News on Sunday.

According to the source, the victim was with her mother in Al-Qahtaniyah subdistrict during the attack, and the body was transferred to the forensic medicine department to complete legal procedures. He noted that the area witnessed a similar incident about a month ago, resulting in the amputation of a child’s ear.

According to official estimates, Iraq has more than one million stray dogs, while authorities have recorded widespread bite incidents across the country. In Diyala alone, health officials registered more than 1,000 cases in the first five months of 2025.

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

Meanwhile, animal rights advocate policies that allow the killing of stray dogs, warning that culling undermines ecological balance and violates Kurdistan Region Law No. 14 of 2022, which prohibits the killing of stray animals and requires their humane treatment.