Iraq shopping mall fire kills more than 60

A fire tore through a newly opened five-storey Hypermarket Mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, killing at least 61 people, authorities said Thursday.

The fire broke out late Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor of the mall before rapidly engulfing. The Interior Ministry said "the tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified."