BAGHDAD – A fire at a mall in eastern Iraq’s Wasit province killed 50 people, including women and children, the provincial governor said Thursday.

Gov. Mohammed al-Mayyeh in a statement declared three day of mourning for the fire that began Wednesday.

Few other details were available about the fire in the town of Kut.

The governor announced that the fire’s origin is under investigation and that lawsuits have been initiated against both the building and mall owners. However, he did not mention the specific charges involved.

“We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident,” stated al-Mayyeh.

In Iraq, substandard building practices have often led to devastating fires. For instance, in July 2021, a fire at a hospital in Nasiriyah tragically claimed the lives of 60 to 92 individuals. The fire was exacerbated by a highly combustible, low-cost “sandwich panel” cladding, which is prohibited in Iraq.

In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.