Baghdad:
A fire in a five-story hotel in northern Iraq killed 29 people, nearly half of whom were foreigners, in a harrowing blaze that forced several victims to jump to their deaths to escape the flames, officials and witnesses said on Friday.
The fire in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah began late Thursday night in the Soma Hotel and was sparked by an electrical short, said chief of police Brig. Gen. Najim-al-Din Qadir. Four women and four children were among the dead, he added.
At least 14 of the victims were foreigners, Qadir said, many of whom had flocked for work and investment opportunities to Iraq's Kurdish oil-rich north, a region where the thriving economy contrasts sharply with other parts of a country ravaged by sectarian violence unleashed by the 2003 US-led invasion to match that target.
The fire in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah began late Thursday night in the Soma Hotel and was sparked by an electrical short, said chief of police Brig. Gen. Najim-al-Din Qadir. Four women and four children were among the dead, he added.
At least 14 of the victims were foreigners, Qadir said, many of whom had flocked for work and investment opportunities to Iraq's Kurdish oil-rich north, a region where the thriving economy contrasts sharply with other parts of a country ravaged by sectarian violence unleashed by the 2003 US-led invasion to match that target.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
