Early morning fire guts dozens of shops in Sulaymaniyah

SULAYMANIYAH — A massive fire tore through the Dara Sootawaka Market early Saturday, destroying nearly 100 shops in central Sulaymaniyah, according to officials and eyewitnesses. No casualties were reported.

Diyar Ibrahim, head of the city’s civil defense, told 964media from the scene: “At 6:22 a.m. our teams were alerted and reached the market quickly, but by the time they arrived, the fire had already spread widely. We were alerted late.”

Firefighters brought the blaze under control, but civil defense teams are continuing to investigate the cause and assess the full extent of the damage.

“We are three brothers working here,” a shop owner said. “We had three shops in this market. All three burned down. We lost everything. The fire started around 5:40 a.m. and our goods were already here. Everything was destroyed.”

Another vendor who sold blankets said: “All three of my shops were burned and I couldn’t save anything. I lost nearly $300,000. The cause of the fire seems to be related to a power surge.”

Footage captured by 964media at the scene showed extensive damage throughout the marketplace, with nearly 100 shops and stalls gutted by flames.

The Sulaymaniyah governor’s office released a statement crediting first responders: “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the civil defense leadership and teams, and with support from caring citizens and coordination between emergency health crews, security, traffic police, and city police, the fire was brought under control without any casualties.”

Authorities confirmed investigations are ongoing.

Another shop owner said: “The market had a night guard, but he said he didn’t notice anything unusual. Welding work had been done in the market the night before — it’s possible a spark remained and caused the fire. That’s our strongest suspicion.”

He added: “Two sections of the market burned down completely, every shop inside was destroyed, nothing was saved. I’ve lost nearly $300,000.”

Last year, Sulaymaniyah civil defense officials urged vendors to replace flammable curtains with roll-down shutters and raised the market’s roofing height by six meters. Walkways between shops were also widened as part of a fire safety overhaul.

“The entire market was recently renovated to apply these fire-safety measures,” the vendor said. “But unfortunately, it all burned down.”

Another vendor, a young man whose shop was also destroyed, said: “Four of our stores burned. We lost nearly $300,000 in merchandise alone.”