A resident of the Al Habbaniyah district of the Anbar province provided Sputnik with the following video footage.
The man featured in this video, an Iraqi farmer named Abu Osman, says: “I confirm that American Black Widow spider was found in Al Habbaniyah region. I demand that the local government get rid of these spiders that invade our homes in this region, and prevent them from spreading.”
He also pointed out that many local residents don’t know how dangerous these spiders are and urged the authorities to raise awareness among the populace regarding this new threat.
An official representative of Iraq’s Health Ministry told Sputnik however that so far no cases of people being bitten by this type of spider have been reported in Anbar province or in any other region of the country. He also added that the rumors about the spiders are mostly being spread via social media.
