MORE THAN 100 KILLED AS FIRE HITS WEDDING PARTY IN IRAQ

MORE than 100 people were killed while 150 others were injured in a fire that struck a wedding party in northern Iraq.

The Iraqi Civil Defense said initial reports showed fireworks used in the wedding celebration started the disaster that occurred in the Hamdaniyah district of northeast Nineveh governorate.

Hamdaniyah is located outside of the northern city of Mosul, some 400kms. northwest of the capital Baghdad.

Nineveh governor Najm Al-Jubouri told the Iraqi state news agency INA that the injured were transferred to hospitals in Nineveh and the Kurdistan region.

“There is no final count of the deceased and injured yet,” Al-Jubouri said, according to INA.

Based on videos from the scene, thick smoke were seen billowing out of the Al Haytham Wedding Hall while crowds and ambulances gather outside.

The bride and groom were safe but devastated, a wedding guest told private Iraqi channel Alawla TV.