Baghdad airport hit by second fire in three days

Iraq opened an investigation Thursday after a fire broke out in one of the terminals of Baghdad airport, the second in three days.

There were no casualties in the latest blaze, which damaged several airline offices in the two-storey Nineveh Terminal.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani travelled to the airport to be briefed on the probe launched by fire investigators, his office said.

“Civil defence teams were able to put out the fire,” it added.

It came after three people were lightly hurt on Tuesday when a fire broke out in a refreshments area in the departures lounge of one of the terminals.

Conflict, neglect and endemic corruption have left Iraq’s infrastructure in disrepair.

Safety standards in both the transport and construction sectors are frequently flouted, and accidents are common.

Baghdad airport has undergone no major renovations since it opened in the 1980s under the rule of the late dictator Saddam Hussein.