A massive fire has ripped through a shopping mall in Iraq, killing at least 50 people. The death toll is expected to rise.

Al Arabiya reported this information in a report on Thursday (July 17).

At least 50 people have died in a devastating fire at a shopping mall in Iraq, the governor of the region has confirmed, the French news agency AFP reported on Thursday.

Although the exact location of the fire in Iraq has not yet been clearly identified by official sources, some posts and videos circulating on social media claim that the massive fire broke out in a supermarket in the city of Al-Qut.

Viral videos showed parts of a large building engulfed in flames, with thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Local authorities are still investigating. The death toll is expected to rise.

It is worth noting that fire accidents have occurred in Iraq before. However, at that time, safety measures and building construction defects were blamed. After this incident, questions have again come to the fore about the safety measures in the country's markets and public places.