Today's Edition
Baghdad (AFP)
Iraq has detained six local officials and suspended other public employees following a fire that killed 61 people at a shopping mall earlier this week, authorities said Saturday.
The blaze broke out late Wednesday in a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut.
After an initial investigation, the interior ministry said "there was clear negligence among several officials and employees" in Kut, located around 160 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.
It added that three local officials, including the head of civil defence in Kut, had been detained, and 17 employees suspended from work until further notice.
The Commission of Integrity, an anti-graft body, said later that security forces had detained three more officials "over the violations that led to the fire" at the Corniche Hypermarket Mall, including the head of the violations department at Kut's municipality.
Officials say their investigation is ongoing, and the number of detainees may change.
