Iraq market fire, kills dozens state media says

A massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in eastern Iraq has left at least 60 people dead and 11 others missing, officials said.

BAGHDAD — A massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in eastern Iraq has left at least 60 people dead and 11 others missing, the city’s health authorities and two police sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Videos circulating on social media showed flames engulfing a five-story building in al-Kut overnight as firefighters tried to contain the blaze.

The charred remains of a shopping center, after a massive overnight fire killed dozens of people, in al-Kut, Iraq on July 17, 2025. Ahmed Saad / Reuters“We have compiled a list of 59 victims whose identities have been confirmed, but one body was so badly burned that it has been extremely difficult to identify,” a city health official told Reuters.

“We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris,” city official Ali al-Mayahi told Reuters.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the province’s governor said initial results from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours, the state news agency (INA)reported.