Oil Police officer killed in Baghdad gas valve fire

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Interior Ministry announced Wednesday that a member of the Oil Police Directorate’s third battalion, third brigade, died following a gas pipeline valve fire in the Akkarkuf area of Baghdad.

The ministry said the blaze was caused by a “technical fault” and confirmed that three other officers were injured, two of them sustaining minor burns. Several military and civilian vehicles were also damaged.

“With great sorrow and grief, the Ministry of Interior mourns one of its heroic members who died while performing his duty,” the statement read. “We extend our deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the family of the heroic martyr. May God grant him mercy, and may He grant the wounded a speedy recovery and protect our heroic personnel as they carry out their national duties with dedication.”