Rasoul Qalandari, a 21-year-old Kolbar from Qatur, was killed by direct gunfire and an execution-style shot fired by Border Guard Regiment forces at the Baljuk border area.
According to Kolbarnews, on the evening of Wednesday, 22 July 2026, in the border highlands near the village of Baljuk in the Qatur district of Khoy County, a 21-year-old Kolbar, Rasoul Qalandari, lost his life after being shot by Border Guard Regiment forces.
According to information received, the border guards opened fire on a group of Kolbars without issuing any prior warning, seriously wounding Rasoul Qalandari. According to the report, after approaching him while he was wounded and unable to defend himself, the border guards fatally shot him by firing three bullets to his head.
Rasoul Qalandari, a resident of the Qatur district, was married and the father of two young children; one three years old and the other five months old.
According to statistics recorded by Kolbarnews, in the year 2025, a total of 57 Kolbars in the border regions and intercity routes of the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah were killed or injured due to factors such as direct shootings by the regime’s military forces, avalanches and hypothermia, landmine explosions, falls from mountains and heights, and other incidents. Of this number, 26 Kolbars, equivalent to (46%), were killed and 31 Kolbars, equivalent to (54%), were injured. Of the total 57 Kolbars who were killed or injured in 2025, a total of 44 cases, equivalent to (77%), resulted from direct shootings by the regime’s military forces. Of the total 57 Kolbars who were killed or injured in 2025, a total of 2 Kolbars, equivalent to (4%), were child kolbars under the age of 18, one of whom was killed as a result of direct gunfire by Iraqi border guards (Haras al-Hudud).Despite a 69 percent decrease in the total number of killed and injured kolbars in 2025 compared to 2024, the proportion of deaths relative to total casualties increased from 28 percent to 46 percent. This change indicates a significant increase in the share of deaths among total casualties and reflects the increasingly deadly nature of incidents in 2025.
