Fire in Baghdad tears through shops in major marketplace

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A large fire on Saturday morning tore through several shops in a major commercial area in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The incident occurred in the Shorja market, which is reportedly the largest of its kind in Baghdad, where a variety of goods from food, clothing, perfumes, and other necessities and luxuries are sold.

A source in Baghdad’s Civil Defense teams told Kurdistan 24 the blaze started from the Dhamman building complex, which consists of several shops. He added that there were no casualties.

The firefighters managed to extinguish the fire “in record time,” but it caused serious damage to property and tools in shops, the source said.

The source could not estimate the exact extent of the losses but noted that they were “enormous.”

The Shorja market often witnesses such incidents, mostly in the summer months. The cause of the fire is not known yet.

Electrical fires are quite frequent in Iraq, especially during the summer. High temperatures, a strained power grid, and tangled, exposed wires are a safety risk which governing authorities have yet to address.

Iraqi authorities blame either electrical problems for such fires or the lack of compliance by shop-owners and complexes with safety and prevention controls.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany