Fire tears through commercial units in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — A pre-dawn fire swept through a cluster of commercial units in Baghdad’s Talibiyah area early Monday, burning through auto-parts stores before Civil Defense teams brought the blaze under control. Authorities said losses and the cause of the fire have not yet been determined.

Residents said the fire began in an auto parts shop and quickly spread. Shop guards escaped as the flames grew.

Atheer Hussein, a resident, told 964media: “Most of the shops are wrapped in the wrong way. One shop burned and the fire moved to all the neighboring shops.” He said no injuries were reported. “Most of those present were guards, and they left the place during the fire,” he said, adding that nearby homes were evacuated. “It has been going on for two hours.”

Civil Defense said its director general was on site as teams worked to contain the blaze in buildings and workshops used for selling spare parts and repairing vehicles. Crews deployed newly delivered specialized trucks in both Rusafa and Karkh and used ladder trucks to attack the fire from above while water tankers supplied the operation.

In its statement, the force said teams surrounded the fire, isolated the burning building from nearby structures, entered damaged shops and workshops directly, and extinguished the flames “in a short time” despite burning oils, rubber, and plastic materials that made the operation more difficult. Cooling operations were completed with no injuries.

Civil Defense said it has asked the local police station to open an investigation and requested a forensic expert to determine the cause and “hold accountable those who neglected safety measures.”