20-07-2025
Seven officials arrested over Iraq's shopping center fire
Baghdad ( – The Iraqi Commission of Integrity (COI) revealed on Saturday that seven officials in Wasit's Civil Defense Directorate and the Kut Municipality, including the director of civil defense, have been arrested over a shopping center fire that killed 61 people earlier this week.
The fire, which erupted late Wednesday at a recently finished retail center in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut, is the latest tragic accident in a country where safety laws are frequently disregarded.
After a preliminary inspection, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior identified clear negligence among several officials and employees in Kut.
Besides the seven officials that have been arrested, 17 staff have been suspended from work until further notice over the violations that led to the fire at the shopping center.
The original cause of the shopping center fire remained unknown; however, an eyewitness told AFP that an air conditioner blew on the second floor before the five-story structure was quickly destroyed by flames.
