The local governor announced three days of mourning for the victims, who he said included children.
A fire ripped through a shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut, killing dozens of people, including children, local officials said.
“We have lost around 50 people, men, women and children in the tragic fire,” Mohammad al-Mayahy, the provincial governor, said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency.
Mr. al-Mayahy announced three days of mourning after the fire, which began late Wednesday night. He said that legal proceedings had been opened against the owner of the building, the owner of the mall and others, the news agency reported.
“We will not show leniency toward those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident, which is surrounded by suspicious circumstances,” he added.
It was not immediately clear who owned the building or what the circumstances surrounding the fire were.
Ash covered the inside of the building, blanketing larger pieces of debris, video footage from the aftermath shows.
The fire at the mall is the latest deadly blaze to rip through Iraq in recent years.
In 2023, more than 100 people were killed when a blaze tore through a wedding hall. In 2021, two separate fires at hospitals that were treating Covid patients killed at least 174 people.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
