Accessibility links

Breaking News

Fire Kills At Least 29 In Northern Iraqi City


Firemen work to extinguish the fire at the Soma Hotel.
Firemen work to extinguish the fire at the Soma Hotel.
Health officials say a fire at a hotel in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya killed 29 people, including foreigners, and injured at least 22.

The fire, at the Soma Hotel in the central area of the city, reportedly raged out of control for several hours.

A local security official, Qader Hama-Jan, said the fire was "not a terrorist act."

He said the likely cause of the fire had been an electrical fault.

Authorities said the dead included people from Cambodia, Bangladesh, Canada, Australia, Ecuador, South Africa, Britain, Lebanon, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, and one person who was believed to be a foreigner but did not have identification.

compiled from agency reports

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG