Iraq shopping mall fire kills more than 60

Relatives of those killed in a shopping mall fire, hug each other outside the forensic department at the al-Zahraa Hospital on July 17, 2025, after a fire tore through the newly opened Hyper Mall overnight in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut, killing at least 60 people, according to Iraqi authorities. [AFP]

A fire tore through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, killing at least 61 people, authorities said Thursday as grief-stricken families searched for missing relatives.

Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person told AFP his five relatives died in an elevator.