IRAQ: Fire damages hundreds of shops in Erbil’s Sem market

ANKAWA, Iraq — A large fire devoured the popular “Sem” market in the city center of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, burning more than 200 shops and causing significant material damage.

Well-informed press sources in Erbil said that, “The civil defense teams were able to control and extinguish the fire,” adding that, “shopkeepers lost a lot of their capital as a result of the fire.”

This is the third time that a fire has broken out in this market, causing significant material damage to shopkeepers.

According to official statistics, more than 1,200 fires have broken out in Erbil in the past six months, injuring 27 citizens and killing 29 others.