ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After nearly six months of uncertainty, the family of a young man from northeastern Erbil has been informed that he had reportedly died while fighting with the Russian army in Ukraine, his relatives told Rudaw.
Twenty-two-year-old Matin Wahab, a resident of the Sidakan district within the Soran independent administration, had been missing since mid-August 2025. Halgurd Sheikh Najib, head of the Soran administration, said authorities are now taking steps “to bring his body back.”
Matin left his home on August 15 and later appeared in a video showing him armed on the front lines alongside Russian forces. His relatives told Rudaw on Thursday that he “had been deceived by a group that lured him to Russia under the pretext of work and then involved him in the Ukraine war.”
The family said they were officially notified of his death by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Soran administration on Thursday.
“We are waiting for our son’s body to be returned, and we will not hold a funeral service for him until his remains are brought back,” one of his family members told Rudaw.
The head of the Soran administration, Sheikh Najib, confirmed to Rudaw that the notification came through official channels, stating, “We received news of the young man’s death through the KRG Representation office in Russia and we are currently working with the relevant parties to return his body to the Kurdistan Region.