Drone Strikes Reported in Chaldean Towns of Batnaya and Bartella; No Reported Casualties

Nineveh Plains, Iraq - Unmanned aerial drones struck sites in the historically Chaldean towns of Batnaya and Bartella in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains on Sunday, causing material damage but no confirmed casualties, local security sources reported.

In Batnaya, an explosive-carrying drone dropped a device on a checkpoint belonging to a unit of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in the Tel Kaif District, damaging infrastructure but not injuring anyone on site. Batnaya is a village known for its Chaldean Catholic churches, including Mar Quriaqos and Mart Maryam, and is part of the ancestral homeland of Chaldean Christians in the Nineveh Plains.

In nearby Bartella, another unmanned aircraft struck a facility linked to the PMF’s 30th Brigade, the Al-Basaer Charity Foundation,

also resulting in damage without reported casualties. Bartella, a town east of Mosul with a historic Chaldean Christian population and the iconic Saint George Church, was liberated from ISIL control in 2016 and has been central to community rebuilding efforts since.

Additional drone-dropped devices reportedly fell elsewhere in the Nineveh Plain, and fragments from rocket fire struck the Bazwaya water project. In response, the Nineveh Operations Command elevated security measures and placed army and police units on higher alert as regional tensions remain elevated.

Local community leaders and residents expressed concern over the strikes, saying that for Chaldean families who suffered displacement and destruction of homes, churches, and historic neighborhoods during ISIS’s occupation, any renewed violence in the Nineveh Plain resonates deeply and raises fears about long-term stability.